Bands, beads and beignets!

Mardis Gras marks the calendar in New Orleans as the climax for event for many. When it comes to Mardis Gras week, no one can mistake the deep connection between cultural music and festival heritage that pours out of that city in bright colors and crazy costumes. With the celebration’s zesty food, rich history and of course famous parades, Mardis Gras week makes New Orleans the pin on the map many vacationers! This past Mardis Gras celebration (Tuesday, February 17th) we brought New Orleans up north for the evening and had celebration of our own. Featuring traditional creole foods to like begnies, jambalaya, grits, red beans and creole rice our cafeteria was a cultural sensation of flavor and rhythm. Decorations covered the walls and windows of Riverview in purple, green and gold as students came through the Center Plate line to get a taste of traditional creole dishes. And what brings Mardis Gras more to life than beads and jazz? UWEC’s Forward Brass Band lit up the place with their snazzy renditions of contemporary songs. Tunes like “Sweet Caroline”, “Trouble” and “Can’t Hold Us” were joined with fist pumps and cheers. Students were exited and surprised at the new mask Riverview was wearing for Mardis Gras – this was the place to be! To top it all off we had our staff give away beads to students as they walked in. The night was a huge success; many “Ooo!’s” and “Ahhh’s” were exclaimed and plates were cleaned. Riverview even had the privilege of hosting our dean of students, Joe Abhold for a spicy bowl of Jambalaya. All in all we had a blast at Riverview Café and can’t wait to throw some more beads next year!