Let the good times roll this Fat Tuesday

Goosefoot plans to host its 8th annual Mardi Gras party at Bayview Community Hall.

Prepare to have a blast this Fat Tuesday as Goosefoot plans to host its 8th annual Mardi Gras party at Bayview Community Hall.

The free, family-friendly event runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 and promises plenty of food, music and festive beads for revelers, who are invited to come dressed in costume.

Sami Postma, Goosefoot’s education and events coordinator, said the event draws a huge variety of costumes every year. She recalled last year that one family followed a color theme with punny names.

“We had a mermaid, we’ve had pirates,” she said.

Prizes will be awarded for the best dressed in the following categories: Best in Show, Best Mask, Best Kid’s Costume and Best Couple. Several local businesses have combined forces to offer a tantalizing selection of prizes, from chocolate-covered caramels from Sweet Mona’s to round-trip tickets from the Whidbey Seatac Shuttle to dinner for two at the Inn at Langley.

Zydeco Explosion will provide lively music. Zydeco is a genre that blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana.

Tip the band, grab some drinks from the bar or perhaps purchase some vittles from Chef in the Black Bandana, who will be offering a special Mardi Gras menu with fare hailing from the Big Easy, such as hush puppies, muffaletta and vegan jambalaya.

Even if you’re not in costume, show up and let the good times roll, or laissez les bons temps rouler, as they say in New Orleans.

“It doesn’t cost anything to come party with us,” Postma said.

Ken Pickard plays an accordion during a past Mardi Gras party. (Photo by David Welton)

Ken Pickard plays an accordion during a past Mardi Gras party. (Photo by David Welton)

Janie Cribbs and the T.Rust Band play at a previous Mardi Gras party. (Photo by David Welton)

Janie Cribbs and the T.Rust Band play at a previous Mardi Gras party. (Photo by David Welton)

The Mardi Gras party is a free, family-friendly event. (Photo by David Welton)

The Mardi Gras party is a free, family-friendly event. (Photo by David Welton)