Mardi Gras in Steamboat …

In its 2^nd year, Steamboat’s Mardi Gras Festival kicks off today and includes 5 days of jammed packed fun and awesome events from free concerts, a parade and carnival activities to great food specials including Cajun BBQ, Crawfish Broil and more. The celebration kicks off this afternoon with Bourbon Street at The Bear featuring a sing-along Piano Bar duo.

2011 Mardi Gras at the Bear River

On Saturday, you definitely don’t want to miss the Mardi Gras Parade from Ski Time Square to Gondola Square's Beer Garden and Crawfish Broil!  The parade starts at 1:30pm and will be led by the Mardi Gras Band followed by the "Krewes" – of course fully clad in costume and loaded with plenty of beads to share!  Feels like Bourbon Street to me!  And Mardi Gras would not be complete without lots of carnival-style activities including face painters, fire dancers, street performers and stilt walkers.  At 3:00 pm and straight from New Orleans, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk band will take the stage for a FREE (yes, I said FREE) concert.

Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk Bank

The good times continue to roll on Sunday, as The Steamboat Grand hosts a Jazz Brunch from 10am-2pm featuring the Steamboat Jazz Quintet.  The menu includes some really great creole classics like gumbo, jambalaya, eggs Sardou and much, much more!  Check out the menu at http://www.steamboatgrand.com/pdf/2012_mardi_gras_brunch.pdf.  This is going to be so much fun!  Creole food and music – what more can you ask for? 

The fun continues on Monday from 3:30pm to 6:30 pm with Lundi Gras Après Ski at The Bear River with live Zydeco music.  Then, on Fat Tuesday, it’s an all-out celebration including a snow sculpture contest at the chair lifts, lots of restaurant contests and plenty of beads to go around.  From 3-6pm, don’t miss the raw oyster bar at The Cabin featuring of course raw oysters, oysters Florentine, a Cajun bloody mary bar and my personal favorite – hurricanes!

The good times are definitely going to roll in Steamboat over the next 4 days!  With great food like gumbo, jambalaya and oysters, great drinks like the one and only Hurricane and great music including jazz and zydeco, you can’t help but let the good times roll!     

For more information on the Mardi Gras celebration in Steamboat, visit http://www.steamboat.com/mardigras.aspx.  

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

Jennifer Holt

Sales and Catering

The Steamboat Grand