A bit of Louisiana bubbled up like gumbo in the heart of old Santa Rosa on Saturday evening.
There were "Hurricane" cocktails, Cajun-inspired foods, costumes a la Bourbon Street and dancing to Gator Nation.
The occasion at the historic West End neighborhood's DeTurk Round Barn was a Mardi Gras Ball - a grand party with a bonus. It raised money to boost ArtQuest, the celebrated arts education program at Santa Rosa High School.
The evening's hosts were volunteers with Friends of ArtQuest. They pampered and delighted their guests with specialty cocktails, wines donated by Francis Ford Coppola Winery and beer courtesy of Lagunitas.
Other amusements were nearly as plentiful as strands of beads on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans: a wine-bottle ring toss, a treasure-chest raffle and an auction of the irresistible desserts to be shared by tablemates and guarded from interlopers.
Some ArtQuest Mardi Gras Ball guests made themselves mysterious by concealing their identities behind keepsake masks created and put up for sale by ArtQuest students.
Additional dollars were generated for the multidisciplinary arts program by the bidding for items and lots in the silent and live auctions.
The evening closed with an opportunity to dance off those desserts to the zydeco, Cajun and New Orleans R&B tunes of the Gator Nation Band.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: