It was a dark and stormy night...

The 2010 Southington Rotary Mardi Gras Night Crossword Contest
Alas, a stormy night wasn't about to deter these hearty souls from a great Fat Tuesday party. Nor a great crossword contest!

Rules: There are NO rules! Gather your team of four; then select a name. Get the answers by hook or by crook, then submit your completed puzzle to us by the end of the night. (Hint: Tip your servers, they may return the favor.) A winner will be selected from the correct entries and the team will receive gift certificates to Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill.

The results:
Eleven teams submitted completed entries. Five teams were eliminated for incorrect answers. Teams FTT#1 and FTT#2 (possibly cheating from each other) tripped up by answering that January 6th, the start of the Mardi Gras (or Carnival) season, was Trinity instead of Twelfth Night. The Friends team slipped up by guessing that the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is commonly known as Carnival instead of Jazz Fest. The Three K's Plus One did not know that the Mardi Gras parades are organized by Carnival krewes. And Minnow 3 was tripped up by inserting an a instead of e in file gumbo (I know, I wanted to give you a pass, but the that damn rules committee overruled me).

That left six finalists:
The Mighty Browns
Sue, Meg & Eric
Chet & the Juniors
G-Spot
The Kanes
The Saints

And the winning team is -
CHET & the JUNIORS!

Congratulations!

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Southington, we would like to thank Barry, Cheryl and the wonderful staff at Anthony Jack's for their generosity, assistance and good humor in putting on this event again this year. The food was outstanding (kudos for the beignets) and the servers were good sports helping us out with the crossword contest. We would also like to thank Pat Giamatteo and Rogo Distributors for their donation of the beer. To Rob Jockel and Dr. Ya Ya's Gumbo Party, another great performance to set the mood for the evening! To all those who braved the surprising storm to attend and to all who couldn't make it, but bought tickets anyway - thank you! And finally, to all the committee members who pitched in to make this event possible (you know who you are), you're the best! See y'all next year!
- John Kennedy/Trish Walden, co-chairs

Mardi Gras Night 2010 - Your Invitation!...

Tell all your friends. If you have no friends, tell anyone else you know. The 6th annual Southington Rotary Mardi Gras Night will be held on Fat Tuesday, February 16th at Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill. In addition to fine food and interesting people (only if YOU come, of course), you will be thoroughly entertained by Dr. Ya Ya's Gumbo Party. To quote New Orleans' own Dr. John - "SUCH A NIGHT!" Just imagine, all this and support for this year's designated beneficiary, the Southington Education Foundation, and other Southington Rotary Club community programs, too! Just the facts, Ma'am: Date/time: Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm Where: Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill, 30 Center Street, Southington, CT 06489 - directions Cost: $65/person, includes food stations, beer, wine, entertainment Reservations: Co-chair John Kennedy @860.276.8025, Co-chair Trish Walden @860.378.1226, Anthony Jack's @860.426.1487

Dr YaYa's Gumbo Party Who's Dr. Ya Ya? The original Dr. Ya Ya was a voodoo root doctor in 19th century New Orleans, a successor to Marie Laveau and Doctor John. How'd a band from the Nutmeg State come to be named after him? Dr. Ya Ya's Louisiana specialty was a jimson weed elixir, not the fake nutmegs carved from wood and sold by Connecticut peddlers of old. One hundred & fifty years or so later, drummer Tom Smith got tired of missing Mardi Gras every year because of gigs in New England and asked friends to join together in a party band to celebrate Fat Tuesday. At their 1992 debut, this masked ensemble of popular Connecticut musicians had so much fun that they continued performing sporadically as Dr. Ya Ya's Dirty Rice Revue. The current Dr. Ya Ya's Gumbo Party grew from this mysterious krewe. What's a gumbo party? When a group of friends get together for a gumbo party, everyone brings a different ingredient to toss into the cooking pot. For example . . Bassist Andy "Uncle Chickenbone" Karlok got his start with Greasy Fred & The New Haven Stompers, alongside Dr. Ya Ya singer Rob Jockel. Over the years, Andy has toured America with blues guitarist Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, backed the incomparable New Orleans singer Johnny Adams and blues legend Hubert Sumlin, could once be found playing bass and theremin with acclaimed Boston lounge lizards The Electric Logs, and is often heard with River City Slim & The Zydeco Hogs. Drummer Tom Smith did his New Orleans rock'n'roll studies loafing on a Coca Cola cooler in the back of Tipitina's - digging Professor Longhair, The Meters, Earl King, Irma Thomas, The Neville Brothers & other greats - and playing a few gigs on Bourbon Street. Now back his native CT, Tom juggles gigs with a ridiculously long list of bands, including The Hickups, Mercy Meadows, The Bandidos, The Alex Butter Field, Eugene Chrysler & the Hillbilly Shakespeares,and whoever else will feed him. Guitarist James Montez met singer Rob Jockel and drummer Tom Smith in New England bar band Dance Committee in the 1980s. James and Tom continue to play and record together in a variety of roots rock acts, including bluesy twang trio The Bandidos, hardcore honky tonkers The Hickups, and rockabillies Eugene Chrysler & the Hillbilly Shakespeares. Keyboardist extraordinaire Scott "Scooter" Van Dyke toured the U.S. with New Orleans-based jam band Brides of Jesus, whose history includes a six-month stint as Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli's backup group. After heading north, Scooter played with New England faves Gus Factor, the Michael Cleary Band, and Hot Skillet Papas. These days he keeps the funk alive with Lava and Catfish Jam. Vocalist Rob Jockel was one of the founders of Eight To the Bar, helping instigate its 1970s incarnation as a rocking Texas swing band devoted to Bob Wills and Asleep At the Wheel. When 8ttB's sound headed for Motown and jitterbugging, Rob departed in his own direction, singing with Dance Committee and later joining Scooter and Tom in blues quintet Hot Skillet Papas. He also currently fronts the seven-piece Memphis Soul Spectacular, which includes a few Dr YY members. When in New Orleans, he is partial to Uglesiche's etouffée (r.i.p.) and Liuzza's onion rings. Booking: Cutting Edge Entertainment (203) 693-9116 Mardi Gras "Mardi Gras" (French for Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival, the three-day period preceding the beginning of Lent, the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday immediately before Ash Wednesday (some traditions count Carnival as the entire period of time between Epiphany or Twelfth Night and Ash Wednesday).[1] The entire three-day period has come to be known in many areas as Mardi Gras.[2] Perhaps the cities most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations include Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Per IRS regulations, $35 of the ticket price qualifies as a donation to the Southington Rotary Trust, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Such a night...Fat Tuesday 2009!

Mardi Gras 2008 pics courtesy of Ginny Roy...