BIG ARTS annual benefit celebrates Mardi Gras
Strap on your mask and strike up the band — Mardi Gras is coming to Sanibel!
The BIG ARTS annual benefit will offer a taste of the Big Easy on Monday, Feb. 28, with a Louisiana-style buffet in the Boler Garden, followed by a concert by one of New Orleans’ most enduring and adaptive musical showmen. Deacon John and the Ivories will return after a much talked about sold-out performance in Shein Hall four years ago.
“When we realized our annual benefit date was near the time of Mardi Gras, our Annual Benefit Committee worked with our Contemporary Music Chair, Jim Hanlon, to plan a fun evening with fabulous entertainment,” said BIG ARTS Executive Director Lee Ellen Harder. “Deacon John is an incredible musician and showman. He and his band capture the spirit and soul of traditional New Orleans R&B. It will be a night not to be missed!”
Susan Heisler who, along with fellow benefit committee members Mary Buck and Debbie Klug, is hard at work preparing for the event, said everyone is looking forward to a wonderful evening — and the opportunity to show off their Mardi Gras masks.
“Our goal for this year’s benefit is to maximize both funds and friendship for BIG ARTS. We are planning a spectacular Mardi Gras evening, so we hope both old and new friends of BIG ARTS will join us” Heisler said.
Tickets start at $125 for general admission. To purchase tickets, call the BIG ARTS Marks Box Office at 395-0900.
The event is sponsored by Benefactor Sponsors John M. and Mary Jo Boler, Grand Patron Sponsors Deborah and John La Gorce, Patricia and Davis Thurber and FineMark National Bank & Trust. Patron Sponsors are Chico’s FAS, Inc., Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, The L.A.T. Foundation and ‘Tween Waters Inn.
For more information about upcoming events, programs and exhibits at BIG ARTS, go to www.BIGARTS.org.
BIG ARTS is located at 900 Dunlop Road on Sanibel.