Mardi Gras Awards $20,000 to Area Non-Profits

Eleven local non-profit organizations benefitted from grants distributed recently by the Lake Wales Mardi Gras Committee. Several dozen representatives and community members gathered at the Lake Wales Arts Center for the annual check presentation.

The Lake Wales Mardi Gras Committee and Lake Wales Mardi Gras President Joshua Curchy presented a total of $20,000 from proceeds raised in the 2024 Mardi Gras event.

Caley Curchy

Representatives of area non-profit groups gathered recently at the Lake Wales Arts Center to receive grant awards from the Lake Wales Mardi Gras Committee. In total, eleven different organizations received portions of the $20,000 generated by the annual festival.

The Mardi Gras celebration, now planning for its 41st year, draws thousands of visitors and tens of thousands of residents to the streets of downtown Lake Wales and Lake Wailes Park. The multi-day festival features parades, a music festival, and plenty of side parties hosted by parade "krewes" and other groups.

Proceeds are donated to non-profit organizations in the community. The annual charitable donations are also motivation for the 100 or so volunteers who make the annual event happen.

Among the recipients of grants this year were Victory Ridge Academy, the Lake Wales Police Shop with a Cop Program, Rotary on the Ridge. Refuge on the Ridge. Lake Wales High School Highlander Band. The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund, The Family Literacy Academy of Lake Wales, Lake Wales Little League, Lake Wales Arts Council, Circle of Friends, and Candlelight Christian Academy.