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Community Corner

Time to Celebrate Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras Style

A downtown pub crawl supports the Royal Oak Animal Shelter and Gilda's Club.

Royal Oak is bringing the taste and style of New Orleans to local venues on Fat Tuesday.

The Royal Oak Restaurant Association is hosting the on Tuesday with 18 of Royal Oak's pubs and bars participating in this year's event. All participating locations will offer drink specials, and some locations will offer live music and Cajun food specials.

The Mardi Gras Festival starts at 6 p. m. and ends at 2 a. m. Tickets cost $15 and are available at any of the 18 venues. Each ticket holder will receive a festive bag of goodies including beads, marks, hurricane cups and more.

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Event-goers who purchased tickets in advance are asked to check in at the venue where they purchased their tickets. They will receive their festive bags upon check-in.

Royal Oak kitchens will also be filled with Cajun styles Tuesday night. Jambalaya will be served at , , , , , and . With so many locations to choose from, it will be hard to pick, but a sure way to dine with delight is to stop at Ye Olde Saloon, the winner of the 2011 Royal Oak Jambalaya contest.

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“We competed against 11 other recipes and are happy to have the title,” said Ye Olde Saloon bartender Katie Duncan. “We use some supersecret ingredients. We make the jambalaya from scratch, and everyone seems to love it.”

If you're looking for a bit more variety, Rock on Third is offering several additions to its normal menu.

“We've been participating in this celebration from the start, so we've learned what people like,” said Sarah Roosen, manager of Rock on Third. “Our mac and cheese has always been popular, so we've brought that back. We'll also be serving New Orleans-style jambalaya, Cajun catfish, corn bread and red beans with rice.”

will also add Cajun dishes to its menu, serving rock shrimp gumbo with hush puppies and sweet potato fries with a spicy remoulade. 

A new restaurant in the city, , will be serving free samples of its famous burnt ends. Lockhart's offers 12 Michigan-brewed beers on tap and carries a variety of domestic and import beers, as well as wines and liquor.

“We don't really know what to expect, but we'll be staffing up as if it were a Friday or Saturday,” said Lockhart's manager Sandy Pauck. “We're close to all of the bars, so, hopefully, it'll do well for us. It'll be a great way to get our name out there to people that don't know we exist and attract new customers.”

In addition to great drinks and food, many locations will host live entertainment to add to the festivities. and will feature disc jockeys. Rock on Third, Mr. B's, , Andiamo, Tom's Oyster Bar and will feature live bands. 

Proceeds from the festival will benefit the and .

“It's just a lot of fun," Roosen said. "It's a great way to keep it local and give back to the community. We're really passionate about the charities, so we love to donate our time to the cause.”

The weather is expected to be 40 degrees Tuesday, with a low of 33. While these temperatures don't compare to the expected 75 degrees in New Orleans, event-goers should be happy to know that clear skies are anticipated.

As many know, Michigan's weather doesn't always go according to plan so The Night Move will provide courtesy shuttles from 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. for all event-goers. Shuttles will be on a 20-minute loop and will stop at each participating venue.

For a full list of participating locations, visit rorainfo.com/events.html.

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