DICKINSON — Get ready for a weekend of fun, prizes, and community spirit as Trinity Catholic Schools hosts its 59th annual Mardi Gras fundraiser festival, featuring a grand prize of a 2023 Ford Escape and additional prizes donated by local businesses, an escape room, live music, movie screenings and more. Trinity Catholic Schools will host their annual weekend long Mardi Gras fundraiser festival Feb. 3 - Feb. 5.
Raffle tickets can be purchased online for $5 at Mardigras23.givesmart.com. The grand prize is a 2023 Ford Escape, there will be 10 additional prizes as well, including a Traeger grill, a quarter of beef, gas cards and other items donated by local businesses. Online auction items can be bid on at the website listed above General admission to the event is free, with plenty of crafts, games and concessions.
“It’s funny. Today they were just driving the car into school. So the Ford Escape is kind of just parked there in the middle of the hallway,” Dean of Students Father Christian Smith said.
He added that he’s always impressed with the generosity of parents and parishioners who volunteer their time to make it all happen.
“It’s a huge undertaking that is done mostly just by a devoted set of families,” he said. “I get the students to sign up for shifts in the kitchen, entertainment and Midway games. So it's just a lot of people that are just giving of their time, which I always see as something that is really powerful that we’re able to come together and put on an event for the community.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The fundraiser goes back many years for Titan Catholic families.
“It’s a time honored tradition that is a beautiful way for us to give back and earn a little bit of money for the school,” Smith said.
Trinity Director of Mission Advancement DeAnn Scheeler said this is actually the 59th year they’ve held it. The tradition began just a couple of years after Trinity High School was founded in 1959.
A Ford SUV won’t be the only escape during this fun-filled weekend. Smith noted that escape rooms have been increasing in popularity in recent years, and Mardi Gras organizers jumped on the bandwagon last year to put one on and that it was a big hit with attendees. The theme of this year’s room will be “carnival catastrophe.”
For $15 Titans can be serenaded by the live music of the opening act and Elgin, N.D. based band Bluestems, followed by the headliner which is pop country group Raynes. The concert starts at 6:30 p.m. The movie DC League of Super-Pets will show in the THS Auditorium at 2 p.m. and Top Gun: Maverick at 6 p.m. on Saturday for $2 admission. Meals are $15 all three nights. Bingo prizes vary by the day.
The festival caps off Catholic Schools Week, a longstanding custom that was started by Pope John Paul I in 1974 to celebrate every part that makes a Catholic community whole. This week Trinity will have various themed out of uniform days such patriot day and 1970s day, an all school mass with Bishop David Kagen movie day for elementary students and nerf wars for high schoolers.
Scheeler said Catholic schools are unique educational institutions that foster virtuous citizens and provide an environment where students can grow in their faith.
“Our very mission is to educate the whole student: mind, body and soul. We're able to teach big subjects about our faith that public schools aren't able to, by definition. I think that focus on the whole student allows us to partner with parents and really develop well rounded students. So when they become adults, they can really do great things in our communities,” Scheeler said.
ADVERTISEMENT
For more information about the Mardi Gras event, call 701-483-6085.
The Trust Project
