Mardi Gras Activities in and Around Rochester, NY

Mardi Gras is the celebration also known as "Fat Tuesday". It marks the beginning of Lent and is a time to indulge yourself before fasting for forty-two days. The Rochester, NY area has some fun music-oriented activities planned to help you feast and have fun.

Get a taste of Mardi Gras every day by going to either Beale Street Cafe location. You can hear live music at the South Ave location on almost every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Enjoy Cajun food all of the time!

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as part of the Wegmans WPOP series, will be sponsoring a special Mardi Gras concert on Friday, February 1, 2008 and Saturday, February 2, 2008, both at 8 p.m. Michael Krajewski will conduct the Side Street Strutters, a jazz band, in traditional New Orleans-style music and sounds. Beads will be given out! Tickets run from $20-57 and can be purchased at any Rochester-area Wegmans, by calling 585-454-2100, or by purchasing them online at www.rpo.org.

The annual March of Dimes Mardi Gras Celebration will be held at the Water Street Music Hall on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 from 5 p.m. to midnight. This event will raise money for the March of Dimes Walk America. Beads will be on sale from the Rhinestone Cheerleaders. There are two stages of live music, including Brian Lindsay and the Bootleggers, Nik & the Nice Guys, Perfect World, Sometimes Three, and local favorites Uncle Plum. Celebrity bartenders include 98.9 The Buzz's Kimberly and Beck, News 8's Elizabeth Harness, News 10 NBC's Jennifer Johnson, Mayor Pete Kennedy, R News's Leah George and Casey Bortnick, Rochester Golf Champion Christie Rittenhouse, SUNY Geneseo Hockey Coach Chris Schultz, and 10 Ugly Men. Purchase your tickets online, at local Wegmans, the March of Dimes office, and the Summit Federal Credit Union location in Greece. Read all about it here.