Audio By Carbonatix
Can’t get to the Big Easy for Mardi Gras? You can still find plenty of beads, music and debauchery in Denver if you head to the Wynkoop Brewing Company, which has been hosting a Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Celebration for the past fifteen years, helping revelers cut loose and really feel the need for the six weeks of abstinence that is Lent. “I love New Orleans and I love Mardi Gras,” notes the Wynkoop’s Matt McAleer, “and I also like having an excuse to feel terrible on Ash Wednesday.”
The party starts at the Wynkoop’s sister eatery, the Wazee Supper Club, 1600 15th Street, at 4 p.m. “It’s a lot of people bracing themselves for that long walk,” McAleer says — the long walk being the march down to the Wynkoop itself, at 1634 18th Street. “I’m always impressed by the crowd on the street — because nobody really knows this goes on until they see us marching up the street. People all stop what they’re doing, we throw beads at them, and they cheer us on,” he adds.
The party at the Wynkoop includes performances by the Kent High School R&B Ensemble, plus New Orleans-style funk and jazz with the O-Tones. There will be Creole cuisine and complimentary masks, beads and face painting. For information, call 303-297-2700 or visit www.wynkoop.com.
Tue., Feb. 16, 4 p.m.-2 a.m., 2010
