French Creole Mardi Gras Music at The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association

The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association presents musician Dennis Stroughmatt in "Mardi Gras: The 300-Year-Old French Creole Tradition." Stroughmatt, an authority on French Creole music and the culture of "Upper Louisiana," a.k.a. southern Illinois and Missouri, discusses the western European and Celtic nature of Mardi Gras and performs Illinois French Creole songs on his fiddle and guitar. The Mardi Gras festival and traditional songs are cherished cultural treasures that have been practiced by Creoles in "Upper Louisiana" for over three centuries. The program will start at 1:15 PM and will be followed by a tea. This Road Scholar program is free and open to the public. It is made possible in part by an award from the Illinois Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Illinois General Assembly.