Mardi Gras Food Fest 2020,
25 Years of Good Eats for a Great Cause!
25 years ago, a committee of volunteers formed with an idea to bring this
New Orleans-style event to Arcadia. The idea was to create a “taste-of”
experience and invite local restaurants to share their favorite menu items
in a Mardi Gras-themed setting; all to support Methodist Hospital of Southern
California.
The fundraiser had humble beginnings, but it gained popularity year after
year. It grew into a significant annual fundraiser hosting over 1,000
revelers and featuring over 30 top restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley.
Now held at Sirona’s Santa Anita Park, guests partake in its festive
details including a silent auction, the annual King and Queen of Mardi
Gras parade led by the members of the Arcadia High School Band, a crowd
pleasing photo booth provided by Pixster, tasty drinks offered at a fully
hosted bar, crazy costumes and live music with lots and lots of dancing
to the tunes of The 80’z All-Stars.
Even though many of the event details have changed to meet the needs of
our growing audience, one important detail has stood the test of time
- the date! The tradition of holding this on Fat Tuesday has been the
event’s hallmark. You can set your calendar by it!
Proceeds from this annual “beads and boas” event have helped
raised much needed funds for programs such as Emergency Services, Cancer
Care, Maternal Child Health, Cardiac Care, Stroke Care and much more.
To date, this event has raised nearly $2 million dollars net of expenses
and we hope to continue building on that success.
As we celebrate our silver anniversary, we are thrilled to recognize all
our past royalty - those wonderful individuals who were previously crowned
Kings and Queens on the Mardi Gras stage.
Proceeds from Mardi Gras Food Fest 2020 will support the purchase of a
CT scanner in the Hollfelder Emergency Care Center at Methodist Hospital.
When time is of the essence, a prompt diagnosis can ensure that proper
treatment is started as quickly as possible. Having a CT scanner located
in this critical area will make patient treatment safer while giving emergency
physicians the optimal images they need. It will also create faster workflow
between a patient’s arrival time, scan time, and potential treatment
time. That’s because less time is spent transporting the patient,
reducing exam times and generating faster imaging when every second counts.
Mardi Gras Food Fest 2020 will be held on Tuesday, February 25th at Sirona’s Santa Anita. For more information call Methodist Hospital
Foundation at (626) 898-8888 or email
mardigras@methodisthospital.org