Mardi Gras at the Carriage

Baubles, bangles, and beads reigned supreme at the colorful, energized second annual Mardi Gras bash presented by La Boheme dance group founder Teresa Kuskey and social gadabout Rick Oshay at the Carriage and Western Art Museum.

The fun fête was so popular that more than two dozen would-be guests had to be turned away because of fire regulations, but the 200 allowed in as the Michael Gantz Mardi Gras Band and the Lollipop Pole aerialist dancers – Caroline Byrne and Katya Baty – entertained, with ubiquitous KEYT-TV reporter John Palminteri emceeing, certainly had a night to remember.

Add to that the Mariano Silva Afro-Brazilian Dance, King Bee, the drag queen Belladonna, Nilay Engin-Wheat’s belly dance, trombone comedy from Madelenna Frossetti, guitarist Maitland Ward, and Joey Souza as DJ, and you get the picture as the Mardi Gras King was crowned, along with Bacchus and the Goddess of La Boheme.

Among the Carnaval mob, noshing on the Creole cuisine of gumbo and jambalaya prepared by the Big Easy Catering Company, were Gretchen Lieff and Miles Hartfeld, Larry Gosselin, Donna Reeves, Peter Hilf, Adam McKaig, Lisa Osborn, Scott Topper, Mark Whitehurst and Kerry Methner, Monte and Maria Wilson, Melissa Borders, Richard Auhll, and Martha Smilgis.