Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

MARDI GRAS BALL HELD AT ST. ANN’S

 

WOONSOCKET — The Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts (NRICA) had its Mardi Gras Ball Saturday night.

 

Held at St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center, the Mardi Gras revelers were treated to a full Cajun, Creole and French-Canadian buffet, prepared by event Co-Chair Wally Rathbun with assistance from Roland and Judy Beauchemin of Missy’s Family Restaurant. Boston-based Cajun and zydeco band Squeezebox Stompers kept the party going all night.

 

Emcees for the event were Sharon Charette, President of the Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts and Dominique Doiron, Executive Director of St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center and King Jace for 2020. Mardi Gras Co-Chairs Marlene Gagnon and Wally Rathbun and Queen’s Coronation Co-Chairs Tammy Irwin and Barbara Ozanian were on hand to oversee the event.

 

A key part of the evening is the presentation of the Queen and the Royal Court who preside over the Ball. The title of Queen is earned by the contestant who sells the most raffle, ball, and coronation tickets. This year, the title of Queen of Mardi Gras for 2023 was earned by Tabitha Westerhuis. The court included King Jace the XXVIIIth, Adam Brunetti, First Princess Cynthia Henderson, Second Princess Geraldine Barclay-King, and Third Princess Tonya Sawtelle. The new Mardi Gras Queen and princesses were crowned last week at Savini’s Pomodoro Restaurant.

This year, the Mardi Gras Committee decided to add a couple of surprise changes to the way the Royal Court is formed. Through the committee’s “No Princess Left Behind Act of 2023,” all contestants will be named princesses in the order of the amount of their ticket sales.

The second surprise of the evening was that last year’s Queen Desiree Archambault, this year’s Queen Tabitha Westerhuis and all princesses were called upon to choose their own princes of Mardi Gras.

The proceeds from the Queen’s Coronation and the Mardi Gras Ball help the Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts ensure the success of Mardi Gras for future generations and help fund the NRICA’s arts scholarships.

 

For complete biographies of the queen and her court and for more information and updates, visit www.nrica.org.

 

President Trump is thanking Republicans for showing unity during the government shutdown. During a Rose Garden luncheon for Senate Republicans today, Trump said "radical" Democrats are holding the government hostage. Democratic lawmakers remain dug in on efforts to extend healthcare subsidies, while Republicans are demanding the government reopen before any negotiations take place.        Vice President JD Vance says he's confident the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas will hold, but there's more work to do. Speaking from Israel, Vance said today things are going better than he thought. Vance's visit comes as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner are also in the region and after Hamas on Monday night returned the body of another dead hostage to Israel.        Millions of low income Americans could soon loose their SNAP food assistance. The Acting Administrator of SNAP says the program won't have enough money by the end of the month if the shutdown continues. Over 42 million low-income Americans use SNAP and several states have warned they can't maintain the program without federal funding.        An illegal immigrant and a federal marshal were involved in a shooting incident in South Los Angeles. ICE says the marshal and immigrant were shot during an immigration operation this morning. Both are believed to have non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.        Week nine of college football gets underway tonight. Kennesaw State will take on Florida International at Pitbull Stadium at 7 p.m. eastern. FIU is three-and-three on the season, while Kennesaw State is four-and-two. At 7:30 p.m., Louisiana Tech will host Western Kentucky at Joe Aillet Stadium. Louisiana Tech is four-and-two, while Western Kentucky is five-and-two.        Warner Bros. Discovery says it's open to a possible sale. The company said it was undergoing a "review of potential alternatives" and had received "unsolicited interest from multiple parties" for purchase. The offers have been for both the entire company as well as just Warner Bros. studios and streaming platforms. This comes after Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly recently rejected an offer from Paramount Skydance.       

Old News Archives