The Frederick Woman’s Civic Club, Inc. 56th Annual Mardi Gras Musical Madness 2017 semi-formal gala will be held Saturday, March 11, 2017, at the Francis Scott Key Holiday Inn, located at 5400 Holiday Drive in Frederick. Proceeds will benefit the James M. Stockman Cancer Institute, scholarships, non-profits and historic preservation. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m., with a chance to bid on a variety of exciting and high-end Silent Auction offerings; a presentation of the Royal Court of the three Kings of Mardi Gras, the Queen and her Princesses at 7:00 p.m.; a delicious food-tasting, from 8:00-9:30 p.m.; and music and dancing, from 8:00-11:00 p.m. Costumes are optional but encouraged.
The Mardi Gras gala festivities began on January 6, 2017, with Twelfth Night – Kings of Mardi Gras at the Steiner House in Frederick. The three Kings presented were: Dr. Mark Soberman, King Proteus; James Bongard filled in for his grandfather, John Bongard, Rex-King of Mardi Gras; and Justin Saltzman, King Comus. The Twelfth Night event was also attended by past Kings of Mardi Gras, Frederick Woman’s Civic Club, Inc. members, and guests.
The Princess Tea was held on Sunday, January 22, 2017. The Mardi Gras Queen, Samantha Smith, a junior at Catoctin High School and the daughter of Terri Bougher and the late Samuel Smith, was selected through a charm ceremony at the tea. A wrapped box, containing a charm provided by Colonial Jewelers, was selected by each of the fifteen princesses. The princess with the crown in her box is Queen of Mardi Gras. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship provided by Frederick County Bank of Frederick.
Frederick’s pre-Lenten Mardi Gras began fifty-six years ago to enable the local Woman’s Civic Club to buy the Steiner House on West Patrick Street for its headquarters and to save the house from being demolished. The Steiner House was built in 1807 by local resident, Stephen Steiner, who also designed and built the bell tower at Trinity Chapel on West Church Street.
For additional information, including tickets, visit www.fwccinc.org, or call 301-663-5875. Tickets are also available at Eventbrite Frederick Events/56th Annual Mardi Gras. View the advertisement on page 10.
56th Annual Mardi Gras princesses (from left): (seated) Bianca Bonny, senior at Urbana High School; Julia Cool, freshman at Mount St. Mary’s University; Samantha Smith, Queen of Mardi Gras, junior at Catoctin High School; Peytyn Lofland, junior at Tuscarora High School; Rylee Duncan, senior at Walkersville High School; (standing) Sarah Holland, senior at Brunswick High School; Alayna Grossnickle, junior at Brunswick High School; Katerina George, attends Excelsior Academy/FCC; Maya Aylor, junior at Middletown High School; Wynnanne Walters, senior at Brunswick High School; Erica Craemer, junior at Brunswick High School; Chelsea Burke, junior at Middletown High School; Natalie Pinto, senior at Middletown High School; Catherine Oakley, junior at Walkersville High School. Not pictured: Mackenzie Wright, junior at Walkersville High School.
