Dancing at Mardi GrasThe St. Mary's Mardi Gras Committee is ecstatic to announce that the Mardi Gras Fundraiser on February 13, 2010 netted nearly $20,000! These proceeds will be sent to Episcopal Relief and Development to aid in the recovery in Haiti. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this event a huge success.

It was particularly appropriate to dedicate our Mardi Gras celebration to the Haitian people, as their culture strongly influenced that of New Orleans. The Haitian Revolution of 1804 brought many French Creole refugees and their West African slaves to New Orleans. These immigrants and their descendants preserved both French and African traditions in Louisiana and infused New Orleans' music, cuisine, religious life, speech patterns, and architecture with their own cultural traditions. Mardi Gras is also an important holiday in Haiti, showcasing their music, creativity, art, religion, and culture despite the hardships they face on a daily basis.