Food, music highlight TechTown Mardi Gras Party

Fred LeBlanc, center, front man for the band Cowboy Mouth, performs with the group at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Saturday, April 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Fred LeBlanc, center, front man for the band Cowboy Mouth, performs with the group at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Saturday, April 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The folks behind TechTown, a month-old local program geared toward getting technological how-to information into the hands of young people, are throwing a block party in August to raise funds for the technology and entrepreneurial learning center.

The TechTown Mardi Gras Party will be Saturday, Aug. 29, on the 400 block of Broad Street. It will also serve as the grand opening of TechTown Chattanooga. Live music will be provided by Cowboy Mouth and Cupid.

The party will include a TechTown Party on the Veranda and TechTown Party on the Square. The former will take place in the parking area and will feature live music, food-tasting stations, a bayou-cooking demonstration, beer and wine, street entertainers, Mardi Gras masks and beads and a VIP section inside. Cost is $100 in advance and $125 at the door.

The Party on the Square will be on Broad Street and will feature, food from local food trucks, live music, street entertainers and beer and wine. Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the gate.

TechTown is designed to inspire imagination, innovation and collaboration in young people through hands-on instruction in video production, technology, graphic design and entrepreneurship.

This summer, there are 160 kids, aged 7 to 17, participating in five camps.

"They are learning everything from coding to robotics to how to design video games," says Sue Rice, organizer of the Mardi Gras Party.

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