Golden Civic Foundation hopes to make Mountain Mardi Gras an annual fundraiser

The band was playing Southern funk music. Green, yellow and purple décor was everywhere. Dozens of people decked out in beads and masks were on parade.

The general scene felt like part of Golden’s Washington Avenue had transformed into New Orleans’ French Quarter.

The Golden Civic Foundation hosted its inaugural Mountain Mardi Gras concert March 4 at the Buffalo Rose, with all proceeds benefiting the nonprofit’s Community Impact Grant Program.

The concert was the culmination of a weeklong partnership between GCF and at least nine local restaurants and bars, which offered special Mardi Gras-inspired menus from Feb. 28 to March 4. Twenty percent of all proceeds benefited GCF.

As of March 5, Development Director Violina Mitovska estimated the entire Mountain Mardi Gras event raised at least $5,000 from both the restaurants’ special menus and the benefit concert.

In 2024, GCF awarded more than $110,000 in grants to 36 recipients, including local food banks, museums, schools and festivals.

Recipients described at the time how the grants were critical to support their teen internship programs, their special events and their work to help Goldenites in need, and more.

Organizers hoped this Mountain Mardi Gras would be the first of many, becoming a late winter tradition alongside the nonprofit’s other yearly fundraisers, the Summer Jam benefit concert and its fall gala.

GCF board members Pat Madison and Sarah Labosky said late February and early March tends to be a slower time in Golden, and thought a fundraiser centered on Mardi Gras would be a great way to generate business among local restaurants, raise funds for local causes, and bring people downtown on a weeknight in the winter.

Buffalo Rose owner Chris Cone felt likewise, estimating that the March 4 concert alone brought 127 people to the venue on a Tuesday night. Plus, the restaurant side’s special menu was well-received leading up to the concert, he said.

Because Golden hasn’t consistently celebrated Mardi Gras, Cone believed there was a pent-up demand for an event like Mountain Mardi Gras. Plus, both the weeklong special menus and the benefit concert were a great way to support local causes, he said.

So, Cone donated the venue and underwrote the cost of the entertainment, namely local Southern funk band Krewe de Groove, so GCF could retain all money from the ticket sales.

Locals Jim Geis and Beverly Walter were among the concertgoers, decked out in beads they brought back from a New Orleans jazz festival.

The two said they bought tickets because they love New Orleans and funk music, and wanted to support GCF. They also sampled the Buffalo Rose’s gumbo before the concert, saying it had a nice kick to it.

Madison and Labosky thanked Cone and his team, saying the benefit concert wouldn’t have been possible without the Buffalo Rose’s support. They also thanked their other restaurant partners for participating in the weeklong special menus, saying they hoped Mountain Mardi Gras would grow more each year.

Mark the calendar

Now with spring well on the way, the nonprofit is wrapping up its 2025 Community Impact Grants cycle. The application deadline was March 7, and recipients would be notified of their status in late April.

Additionally, GCF is in the process of hiring a new executive director, Madison and Labosky said. Applications were set to close at the end of March, with Madison saying that he’s already impressed with the quality of applicants the nonprofit has heard from thus far.

He and Labosky hoped to have a new executive director on board in April.

After that, they said, they recommended people mark their calendars for:

• Summer Jam, the annual family-friendly benefit concert, which will be June 25 at the Colorado Railroad Museum; and
• The annual fall gala fundraiser Oct. 18 at the Denver West Marriott.

Labosky thanked the entire Golden community for its continued support of GCF and its mission, saying Mountain Mardi Gras was a wonderful way to raise money for the grant program and celebrate Fat Tuesday with friends.

For more information, visit goldencivicfoundation.org.

Click through additional photos from the March 4 event: