I’ll be at Mardi Gras in New Orleans today and so will the crew from “Girls Gone Wild.” But Denver’s comedian/vet Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald won’t make it. And he’s been to every Mardi Gras for the past 30 years.
He used to spend a week down there and always came home with 2,000 pounds of green beads to throw from his St. Patrick’s Day Parade float. But the float died when all his buddies sobered up a few years ago. So he doesn’t need the beads, but that’s not why he’s skipping Mardi Gras.
“Katrina also leveled The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida,” he says. “I’m doing a comedy benefit for them down there, and also some surgery on some turtles.”
He also figures he’s not getting any younger to fully enjoy the pleasures of Fat Tuesday.
“I’m 54, but I read at a 56-year-old level,” he says. “And there will be other Mardi Gras. I tell ya, New Orleans is resilient.”
Eat up
Post travel editor Kyle Wagner and Rocky columnist Penny Parker are both battling breast cancer. As part of the fight, they’re hosting a dinner at Panzano March 21 to benefit the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Foundation. It’s six courses from six chefs – the best toques in the biz: Elise Wiggins from Panzano, Frank Bonanno from Luca and Mizuna, Lachlan MacKinnon-Patterson from Frasca, Tyler Wiard from Mel’s, Rachel Woolcott from Aix and Sean Yontz from Chama and sketch.
Tix are $125 – or $250 for a seat at the chef’s counter. Call 303-296-3525.
Vaudeville lives
Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret is open Tuesday nights for Retro Vaudeville Variety Night. Last week it drew a big crowd to see 2-year-old drummer Zaiven Smith; torch singer Reagan Lindemann; magician Keir Mathur, burlesque stripper Vivienne VaVoom; contortionist Elizabeth Lammert; chanteuse Miss E.; drag act Venus Sexton; guitarist Angie Stevens; 11-year-old country star Sara Quarles; skin paint dancer Amee Valentine Cassidy, soul singer Nadia Unique, accordion player Jon d’Ark and The Basque Puppet Players.
“We’re trying to bring on a parade of nonstop talent that covers any kind of skill you might have,” says producer Jefferson Arca, who is also the show’s emcee Pierre Jean-Pierre St. Pierre. “Every act gets five minutes, so if someone is really lame you don’t have to watch it for long. Last week, everyone showed up and delivered.”
Show starts at 7:30 Tuesday nights, $10 at the door. If you want to go or perform, call Arca at 303-293-0075.
City spirit
The Ski Train starts Thursday trips to Winter Park this week. The train now runs Thursdays-Sunday through April 1 … Next time you moan about a valet parking charge, remember that Mario Batali’s new restaurant Del Posto in NYC charges $29 … Coming to various Tattered Covers: Robert Crais, Thursday; Stephen White, Friday; Rita Mae Brown, March 21; Frances Mayes, March 23 … 5280’s restaurant issue is out and names Carmine’s on Penn, Jack-N-Grill and The Mediterranean as “3 Restaurants that Need a Kick in the Butt” … Sez who: “You know you’re old when you notice how young the derelicts are getting.” Jeanne Phillips
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Husted also appears Tuesdays and Fridays on “Good Day Colorado” on Fox 31. You can reach him at 303-820-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
