mARTi gras offering events for whole family

This year’s ninth annual mARTi gras benefit for Art on the Edge will include new events to create Mardi Gras revelry for the entire family.

New this year, Art on the Edge plans to partner with the Coeur d’Alene Resort to mesh the annual mARTi gras party with the resort’s Winter Blues Festival the weekend of Feb. 16 through 18.

Art on the Edge’s mARTi gras benefit will be held from 6 p.m. to midnight Feb. 17 at five downtown locations to eliminate congestion and add to the traditional feel of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Ticket holders may move around from location to location or stay at one restaurant for all of the evening’s events.

Each location will include live music and food prepared by area chefs as part of the Cajun Cook-off, including Brix Restaurant, Cricket’s Steakhouse and Oyster Bar, The Ironhorse, the Coeur d’Alene Resort Plaza and Barrel Room No. 6.

The event also will include traditional Mardi Gras festivities, such as beads, masks and king cake. The belly-dancing group Sisters of Selket will perform, in addition to live music by Carl Ray and the Gators as well as other performers at the various venues. There also will be prizes for king and queen of mARTi gras, best costume and most spirited reveler.

Revelers will also have the option to attend the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s Winter Blues Festival, which includes nine bands such as The Fat Tones, which was awarded the Best Blues Band Award by the Inland Empire Blues Society in 2005, and singer/songwriter Nicole Fournier and Her Three-Pound Universe, who was named Blueswoman of the Year. Bands will play at two stages within the Coeur d’Alene Resort Conference Center as well as Beverly’s, Whispers and the Shore Lounge from 7 p.m. to midnight.

In addition, Art on the Edge volunteers will host a variety of art activities for children of all ages. Through “Artists in the Making,” kids can participate in art projects led by local artists from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Coeur d’Alene Resort Plaza. Cost per child is $5, but scholarships are available through the Coeur d’Alene Arts and Culture Alliance for those who cannot pay.

Proceeds of the event benefit Art on the Edge, a nonprofit organization operated through St. Vincent de Paul that offers free art classes to area youth.

For more information, call 773-1725.