Make your own mask
Michelle Hatfield, a local makeup artist and craft designer, is leading a mask-making class on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Chattanooga WorkSpace, 302 W. Sixth St.› Class fee is $19.98, which includes all supplies needed to create a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras mask.› Register online at www.thechattery.org/classes/2016/2/6/make-your-own-mardi-gras-mask.
Mardi Gras is just five days away, and three nonprofits have planned fundraisers where the good times will roll just like krewes in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras, Feb. 9 this year, is the day before Ash Wednesday. It's also known as Fat Tuesday because it is the last day to indulge in eating and drinking before the Lenten season begins with its 40 days of fasting and prayer.
So the three upcoming Mardi Gras galas will offer Cajun-inspired food, Dixieland jazz, beads, masks and king cakes and all the expected trappings of a New Orleans party.
MARDI GRAS GALA
Find the baby in your king cake cupcake and you'll reign as king or queen of a Mardi Gras party on Friday, Feb. 5, that benefits Chambliss Center for Children.
The fun starts at 7 p.m. at Granfalloon, 400 E. Main St., with a Dixieland jazz band playing to set the New Orleans mood.
"We give everyone beads and masks when they come in," says Katie Harbison, vice president of development for Chambliss Center for Children. "We pass out the king cake cupcakes, and we don't know which ones the babies are in, but whoever gets the babies are king and queen. The king and queen lead a masked parade before the DJ from SoundForce starts music for dancing."
Walk-ups will be accepted at the door, but you must be 21 or older to attend. Tickets are $70 per person, $120 per couple, which includes a buffet of heavy hors d'oeuvres by Events With Taste. Get tickets by calling 423-468-1122.
CHATTI GRAS
This benefit for Chattanooga Catholic schools has already gained a reputation as the Mardi Gras party not to be missed.
The cocktail party (black-tie optional) kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at The Chattanoogan, 1201 Broad St. The $100 ticket includes dinner, auction, casino games and dancing to the Motown stylings of Love, Peace and Happiness before the party winds down.
Chatti Gras has raised more than $200,000 for beneficiaries Notre Dame High School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Jude School as well as the Chattanooga Deanery Operating Fund, which provides tuition assistance to Catholic students in need.
Get tickets online at www.chattigras.com.
BACH IN THE SADDLE
The Chattanooga Bach Choir's annual Mardi Gras masquerade features a mask competition so fierce that its elaborate entries are almost as creative as the themes these singers think up to name their parties.
This benefit usually warms up with cocktails at the Sheraton Read House before guests strut down Chestnut Street to the Walden Club for dinner. However, because Mardi Gras falls early this year and it was considered too cold for a strut, the party will skip straight to the Walden Club, 633 Chestnut St., at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8.
Roger and Vicki White will reign over the Krewe of Bach, says choir member Rita Heckrotte. They will join the River City Red Hots in leading an indoor strut followed by the mask competition. Guests are encouraged to wear their masks until the evening toast, and prizes will be awarded to the best masks. Greg Rambin will serve as emcee.
After a four-course dinner by chef Jeff Walker, there will be dancing to the music of Booker T. Scruggs.
Tickets to Bach in the Saddle are $100 per person. Get yours by calling 423-624-3603.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.