Mardi Gras 2016
22nd Annual
Saturday, February 6th
5:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Tickets: $30 ($35 at the door — CASH ONLY — if tickets are still available)
Call Lorraine Cloutier at (401) 762-9072 or lcloutier1@cox.net

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St. Ann Arts & Cultural Center
84 Cumberland Street,Woonsocket, RI

Live music by

Jeff Gamache and Runaway Train

(Country)

and

Slippery Sneakers
(Zydeco, Blues & Soul, Cajun Waltzes)
Emceed by Jeff Gamache

FULL CAJUN BUFFET CATERED BY
RUSSELL MORIN CATERING

MENU
Mixed Greens Melange with Dressing Buffet

Artisan Breads & Whipped Butter
French Meat Pies
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
Old Fashioned Creamy Grits
Red Beans & Rice
Southern Style Collard Greens with Ham
Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Coffee (Regular And De-Caf)

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King Jace contest sponsored by Dave Richards of WOON Radio

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Clues to King Jace XXII's Identity 1. Shares his name with a famous person. 2. Works with water. 3. Likes to swim. 4. Has a unique quality which sets him apart from previous King Jaces. 5. Will tumble for ya. 6. Knows how to play ball. 7. Hates fried foods. 8. Loves seafood and ice cream. 9. Hides in plain sight. 10. Has a Master's Degree.

And King Jace the XXII is..... Edward Hunt

King's Quest Winner: Amanda Girard

The King and Queen of Mardi Gras The Court Princess Sandi Cruthirds, King Jace (Ed Hunt), Queen Tammy Lamberto Roy, and Princess Judith Potter

 

This year's contestants:
Tammy Lamberto Roy is a Woonsocket resident and special education teacher in the Woonsocket Education Department.  She is an active member in the PTA at Globe Park School.  Tammy enjoys camping, traveling, scrapbooking and spending time with family and friends.  She also loves dancing and cooking.  She has lived in Woonsocket her whole life and would love to give back to the community.  She is a breast cancer survivor and currently battling stage 4 cancer this year.  It would be an honor to be Queen of Mardi Gras in the city she loves and one more item in her bucket list.  She is Married to Noel Roy and has one daughter, Mia.  Her parents are Paulette and Ray Lamberto of Woonsocket.	2016 Mardi Gras Queen
2016 Mardi Gras Princess	Judith Potter is a resident of Woonsocket and owner of Potter Photography.  She is treasurer of the Arts Guild of Woonsocket and a Board member of the Museum of Work and Culture.  She has served as President of the Professional Photographers of R.I. and represented the Professional Photographers of New England for Rhode Island; also past recording secretary for the Cumberland Garden Club.  She enjoys book clubs with friends, exercising at The Gym and experimenting with cooking.  Judith was born and raised in a small town in Maryland about an hour south of D.C. She loves dancing to the Zydeco music and has attended the Mardi Gras Ball for the past few years.  She would love to be Mardi Gras Queen but Princess would be just as rewarding.  She is married to Ernie Potter, owner of Potter Contracting who also performs as Jim Morrison in "Through the Doors" band.  Her daughter Synthia Cardinale is owner of the Waterfall Café in Harrisville
Sandi Cruthirds is a resident of Cumberland and employed as assistant manager at MAURICE'S in Lincoln and volunteers in the Cumberland School Dept.  She is a member of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce and St. Joseph's Veterans Association.  A former member of the Cumberland-Lincoln Community Chorus, she loves singing, enjoys karaoke and is an avid reader.  Born and raised in Biloxi, Mississippi, she is a licensed esthetician and former instructor at Rob Roy Beauty Academy.  Sandi has attended the Mardi Gras Ball for the past six years and would like to be Mardi Gras Queen because she believes the arts are important to the success and vitality of the City of Woonsocket and its. youth.  Her daughters are Savannah, 14 and Madison 11 who are also active in the arts.  Her dad, Lloyd, lives in Mississippi.	2016 Mardi Gras Princess
Paula Marie Hogge is a Woonsocket resident, owner of Frolicking Goddess Craft Studio and founder of the Blackstone Valley Piecemakers Quilt Group.  She is an active member of BVIBA-Buy Local and you can hear her on WNRI "Accentuate The Positive."  She was a Special Ed teacher in Bellingham for 35 years.  Her special interests besides quilting are beading, sewing, knitting, crochet, felting, embroidery and more and her goal is to provide an oasis in people's busy lives.  She shares the vision of a vibrant Woonsocket and would like to make an important contribution to the future by participating in raising awareness and celebrating the fine works of NRICA.
	Adrienne Marie Sharpe lives in Woonsocket and employed as a certified dental assistant at Picard Dental Associates in Woonsocket.  She is an active member of the American Dental Assistants Association.  Her special interests are reading, painting, cooking and spending time with family.  She would love to be Mardi Gras queen to help keep the arts and culture of her hometown alive for present and future generations.  Recently married this year at St. Ann Arts & Culture Center to Lance Sharpe and daughter of Anita and Dennis Taupier.
Amanda Girard lives in Woonsocket and theatre is one of her favorite interests.  She has appeared in Encore Repertory Company presentations and CCRI Players Club.  Amanda enjoys arts and crafts, reading and spending time with family and friends.  She believes NRICA is a wonderful organization and wants to see arts and culture continue in the City of Woonsocket.  She is the daughter of Rosanna Rodrigues.

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Previous Kings & Queens

(click on links to see Mardi Gras page from that year)

	1954 •	Pauline (Nadeau) Miller
	1955 •	Maureen (Mazzarella) Kennedy
	1956 •	Beverly (DiCesare) Russell
	1957 •	Pauline (Gagnon) Riendeau
	1958 •	Rita (Laliberte) Nadeau
	1959 •	Claire (Paul) Lafrance
	1988 •	Michelle (Lefort) Wheeler
Owen Bebeau	•1995 •	Gloria Jean Roy
Roger Nault	• 1996 •	Paula Rezendes
Al Auclair	• 1997 •	Roxanne Menard
Leo Fontaine	• 1998 •	Dianna Glassey
Roger Jalette	• 1999 •	Donna Gallant
Ken Bianchi	• 2000 •	Nancy (Melvin) Beauregard
Noel Pincince	• 2001 •	Suzanne Beaulieu
Dave Richards	• 2002 •	Lorraine Jacob
Roger Petit	• 2003 •	Stacey (McCutcheon) Fitzsimmons
Roger Bouchard	• 2004 •	Roberta Baillargeon
Tom Ward	• 2005 •	Joyce Laperle
Brian Blais	• 2006 •	Lorraine Guilbault
Marcel Desroches	• 2007 •	Nancy Phillips
Ray Gaboury	• 2008 •	Monique Noel
Steve Moreau	• 2009 •	Irene Blais
Thomas S. Carey	• 2010 •	Linda Trudeau
Barry Mechanic	• 2011 •	Amanda Corriveault
William D. Schneck Jr.	• 2012 •	Jackie Boudreau
John Gregory	• 2013 •	Sandy Paul
Bob Phillips	• 2014 •	Sheylon Lawson
Paul Shatraw	• 2015 •	Tracey Parenteau
Edward Hunt	• 2016 •	Tammy Lamberto Roy
Current and Previous Queens in Attendance at Mardi Gras 2016: (Front: left to right) Linda Trudeau 2010, Jackie Boudreau 2012, Tammy Lamberto Roy 2016, Irene Blais 2009, Monique Noel 2008, (Back: left to right) Nancy (Melvin) Beauregard 2000, Tracey Parenteau 2015, Suzanne Beaulieu 2001, Nancy Phillips 2007

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And the raffle winners were: First Prize: Nancy Lavigne Second Prize: John Coffee Cubby, Manville, RI Third Prize: Jay Levreault Fourth Prize: Colette Pincince

Split the Pot Winner: Carolyn Lawson Second Prize: Skip Lawson Third Prize: Mike Beaulieu

Costume Winners

Joe Lima (Charlie Brown, 3rd from left) and Jeanne Michado (Sally Brown, far right), both from East Providence

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	Mardi Gras Committee
	Romeo Berthiaume Jackie Boudreau# Rene Boudreau# Irene Blais* Sharon Charette Lorraine Cloutier Paul Collette Marlene Gagnon* Joan R. Gahan David Graham Michelle Colette Graham Mariana Hadady Monique Jean Clara L’Heureux Ray Nolan Madeleine Riendeau Patrick Ryan Marianne Valentin Brenda Viscione *Committee Co-Chairs #Queen's Contest Co-Chairs

 

Costumes!

Our Sponsors

(click on logo or link to visit our sponsors' websites)

 

281 Harris Avenue, Woonsocket, RI


362 Rathbun Street, Woonsocket, RI

 

American-French Genealogical Society

Romeo & Diane Berthiaume
Uxbridge, MA

Blackstone Valley Center For Internal Medicine, Inc.
Greigstone Yearwood, M. D.
191 Social Street, Woonsocket

John Boucher Real Estate Property Management, Inc.
600 Cass Avenue, Woonsocket, RI


68 Cumberland Street, Suite 202, Woonsocket, RI, (401) 765-8880

Cercle Laurier
165 East School Street, Woonsocket, RI


10 Nate Whipple Highway, Cumberland, RI

 

New England Regional Office
1300 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI

Lorraine Cloutier
Woonsocket, RI


P. O. Box 1, Manville, RI


Italian Workingmen's Club, 947 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI 02895, 401-762-9842


2140 Mendon Road, Suite 202, Cumberland, RI 02864
Telephone: (401) 475-3508 • (888) 920-3232


Manville Sportsmen's Rod and Gun Club
250 High Street, Manville, RI

Woonsocket City Councilman Garrett Mancieri

Mrs. Roxanne Menard, Woonsocket, RI
Mardi Gras Queen, 1997

Milford Federal Savings & Loan
246 Main Street, Milford, MA

1005 Douglas Pike Smithfield, RI 02917

830 Cumberland Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI  02895, 401-769-8128

Gifts and Gift Certificates

Athena's Home Novelties
640 Winter Street, Woonsocket, RI

Jackie Boudreau (Mardi Gras Queen 2012)
North Smithfield, RI


with locations in Rhode Island (South Kingstown, West Warwick),
Massachusetts (Braintree, Hyannis, South Attleboro, Swansea)

Sharon Charette
North Smithfield, RI


2360 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI 02864-3708, (401) 658-2626

2378 Mendon Road, Cumberland, RI

Excel Beauty Salon (Sue Beaulieu, Mardi Gras Queen 2001)
800 Providence Street, Woonsocket, RI


1098 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI
phone: (401) 769-0462, toll free: (877) 237-6993, fax: (401) 767-3806


179 Front Street, Woonsocket, RI | 401-216-5115

Marlene Gagnon
North Smithfield, RI

Joan Gahan
Woonsocket, RI

Clara Holding
"Life's Little Extras"
641 Blackstone Street, Uxbridge, MA

Image Makers Beauty Salon
37 Main Street, Albion, RI

Muriel Lahousse
Douglas, MA

Museum of Work and Culture
42 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895, (401) 769-WORK (9675)

Olly's Mediterranean Cuisine Pizzeria

204 South Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895

Tel: 401-766-1157, 401-766-0709

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church
1409 Park Avenue, Woonsocket, RI

Paradise Treasures and Gifts (Opening in March)
Diana Glassey (Mardi Gras Queen 1998)

 

1500 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI

Carolyn Picchiotti Smith
Cumberland, RI 

Sue Tessier MacKenzie, Seasonal Sweets
289 Summer Street, Woonsocket, RI

Therese Tessier
Woonsocket, RI

200 Woonsocket Hill Road, North Smithfield, RI

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Read about the great time we had for Mardi Gras 2014!

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A SHORT HISTORY OF MARDI GRAS

Many of the traditions of Mardi Gras have their roots in a Roman festival called the Saturnalia which celebrated the end of winter and the coming of spring. Over time, and with the spread of Christianity, the festival became a final binge of feasting and self-indulgence before the sacrifice of Lent. In 17th century Paris, the celebration came to be known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday – a way for Christians to fatten up before the long Lenten season.

French settlers brought their traditions to Louisiana in 1766. By 1857, New Orleans began to develop its own traditions of masked balls, organized parades, and “throws” (favors such as beads, doubloons, and cups thrown from parade floats). In 1872, the King of Mardi Gras selected the celebration’s official colors of purple, green, and gold. The colors’ meanings were defined as justice (purple), faith (green), and power (gold) in 1892.

In 1954, the Mardi Gras tradition was started in Woonsocket by the Junior Chamber of Commerce. The four days of festivities earned the celebration the title of “Mardi Gras of the North.” The Jaycees’ involvement in Mardi Gras gave our king his name – King Jace.

Since 1995, the NRICA and the Mardi Gras Committee, with the invaluable help of our sponsors, have worked hard to bring the authentic feel and the fun of a traditional Mardi Gras celebration to Woonsocket.