Mardis Gras FUNdraiser - Saturday

YS Kids Playhouse

February 9, 2013, 6-11pm

Glen Helen Building

The YS Kids Playhouse invites you to eat, drink and be merry at its Mardi Gras Gala FUNdraiser and Gaston Boudreaux – The Cajun Robin Hood Kick-Off Party!  The YSKP family brings you a carnival of entertainment in keeping with its mission to cultivate the development of future leaders and innovatively engage audiences.

Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy Creole delicacies from Chef John Steiding such as Jambalaya, Gumbo, Boiled Crawfish, Cajun Boudin and Muffaletta while being entertained by a variety of performers including Emma Woodruff, Jill Becker, Jennifer Gilchrist, John Fleming & Byron Crews, Sharon Perry, Walter Rhodes, DJ Clean Gene and Mark Laurens.  And, we have carved out a portion of the evening for King Cake, Bead Throwing and the Mardi Gras Mambo!  Other fun stuff – Pierre Nagley’s fabric flowers, photo ops with Sondy Kai’s upcycled plastic body masks and a raffle featuring Tecumseh Land Trust’s Swamp Tour.  So, pull out your most outrageous masks, don your favorite purples, golds & greens, gather your Krewe & “Laissez les bons temps rouler”!

The festivities begin at 6pm with aperitifs and appetizers accompanied by Zydeco music and performances from our YSKP youth, including Shekinah Williams, Windom Mesure, Joshua Seitz & Jack Lewis.  At 7:30pm, we move to the main course with everything from blackened redfish and shrimp & grits to red beans & rice and oysters; the entertainment continues with Mardi Gras-inspired melodies and a sneak preview of the YSKP’s 2013 Summer Show, Gaston Boudreaux – The Cajun Robin Hood.  From 9-11pm, the dance floor opens and if you want some of those pretty beads, just shout “Throw me somethin’, mister!”

Gaston Boudreaux was created by the YSKP in 2002; this original production investigates the impact of the environment on cultural changes, a timely message given the 100^th anniversary of the Great Flood of 1913.  This is the first time that the YSKP has revisited one of its popular musicals.  “As the YSKP enters its 19^th year, we are ever grateful to the people of Yellow Springs for almost two decades of support as audiences, actors, volunteers and patrons,” says YSKP Founder and Artistic Director John Fleming.  The Cajun Robin Hood will be performed at the Antioch Amphitheater from July 11-21, 2013.  For more information, visit www.yskp.org.

Dance your winter blues away at YSKP’s Mardi Gras Gala FUNdraiser – this will be the highlight of the winter season.  Tickets are $65 for adults, $115 for couples and $35 for students (under 21).  Seating is limited and there will be no ticket sales at the door.  Reservations must be confirmed by February 1.  For reservations, contact Bette Kelley at 937-767-1910 or bkelley@phoerising.com.  Details (including full menu) can be found at our Facebook event.  The YSKP would like to thank our 2013 partners, which include Tecumseh Land Trust, Glen Helen, Miami Conservancy District, YS Community Foundation, Antioch College, Ohio Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts.

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MARDI GRAS GALA Menu

Appetizers: Crawfish Boil, Alligator Bites or Muffaletta & Okra, Creole Dip, Oysters (cooked) and Fried Green Tomatoes

Main Course: Vegetable Gumbo, Red Beans & Rice, Chicken & Boudin, Blackened Redfish, Jambalaya, Shrimp & Grits, Spoon Bread (corn bread)

Dessert: King Cake

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Swamp Tour by Tecumseh Land Trust

Didn’t know there were swamps in Ohio?  Well, the Cajuns have nothin’ on us!  We got swamps all over the place.  Some call ‘em wetlands…Others call ‘em bogs…And, a few call ‘em fens.  There’s game to be trapped out there, too!  Or, even better, to just be listened to and looked at – birds, snakes, muskrats and even those tiny little critters that the “learned” call macroinvertebrates.

Check it out for yourself!  Enter YSKP’s Mardi Gras Gala Swamp Tour Raffle and be guided by veteran land steward Tom Kumbusky through a swamp near you this Spring. 

Keep in mind that Tom, with all his knowledge, doesn’t go out into the swamps with just anybody at anytime. You have to make plans.  And, he likes to associate with folks who show their appreciation for certain kinds of organizations and activities.  In particular, the Tecumseh Land Trust and the Yellow Springs Kids Playhouse.  You know the ones.  They’re doing that play about The Cajun Robin Hood – Gaston Boudreaux – this summer.  You’ll want to be there, too!