The connection between the Mardi Gras parade and Saratoga Springs has to do with a decision made by former Saratoga Springs Mayor Valerie Keehn and the Saratoga Springs City Council who on May 2, 2006 proclaimed Waveland, Mississippi its “sister city.” Waveland was one of the hardest hit regions in Mississippi by Hurricane Katrina. The catastrophic event reduced the city from a “vibrant beach community to rubble.” The area that consists of more than 6,000 residents had 90 percent of all structures destroyed by Hurricane Katrina—residents continue to rebuild the city to this day.

“My son and I went to Waveland and had a life-changing experience. Nothing could really prepare us for what we saw. When we got back to the comfort of our own home and community we knew that our work could not stop with one visit,” Ron Deutsch, co-chair of Saratoga Mardi Gras, stated in a press release.

“We knew we had to do more to help not only the people of Waveland with their crisis, but to help some of our brothers and sisters in the Saratoga area. That is when we decided to help host an event that could raise both awareness and funds for the Latino Community Advocacy Program of SCEOC and to help rebuild homes in Waveland,” Ray Simboli, co-chair of Saratoga Mardi-Gras, declared in a press release.

Both Deutsch and Simboli’s experiences led them to help create The Giving Circle, a not-for-profit organization aimed at helping the residents of Waveland rebuild their city. It also gave them the idea to host a Mardi Gras parade that would help aid the residents of Waveland and the Saratoga Springs Latino Community.

Last year’s Mardi Gras festival was held on February 20, which was the same day New Orleans held their celebration in 2007. According to Deutsch, the festival was a great success, even though it snowed the day before. “People in the community really enjoyed it,” Deutsch said.

This year’s festival will include an “Arti Gras” parade on Beekman Street in Saratoga Springs Arts District, a Cajun cooking competition and live music at the Saratoga Downtowner Hotel parking lot.

“We hope it will generate awareness about the communities affected by Hurricane Katrina including the growing Latino community here in Saratoga Springs,” Deutsch said.

Before Sunday’s festivities, The Giving Circle in conjunction with the Saratoga County Arts Council will host a fundraising event at the Arts Center to help kick off the festival on Saturday, April 26. The program will include film and panel presentations with WLOX (Gulfport, Miss.) news reporter Al Showers and Trudi Renwick, PhD of the Fiscal Policy Institute. The Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council’s Latino Community Advocacy Program (SCEOC) will also show a film highlighting the lives of Latinos in the Saratoga Community. Tickets are $25 and all proceeds will go towards benefitting the SCEOC and efforts to rebuild the Waveland community.

“People down in Waveland and other communities are still really struggling to rebuild,” Deutsch said. “It’s easy for people located up north to forget about Hurricane Katrina and the effect it had on residents in Mississippi communities, but those folks are still living it.”

Sunday’s Mardi Gras event begins at 11:30 a.m. with a street festival on Beekman Street and performances by the Nisky Dixie Cats and Capital Brass. The Arti Gras parade begins at 12:30 p.m. and will feature Saratoga Springs Mayor Scott Johnson as the Grand Marshal. The parade will include floats, marching bands, a Mardi Gras King and much more. There will also be a Cajun cooking competition taking place at participating Saratoga Springs restaurants from 1-5 p.m.

You can learn more about Saratoga Mardi Gras and The Giving Circle at:

www.saratogamardigras.com or www.thegivingcircle.org