Special to The Leader

Vidor Rotary Club is hard at work again, this time hosting a Cajun Music Night to provide funds for the scholarships they award to VHS seniors and for their green bus program, which provides books and food to Vidor youth.

The event will be held Saturday, February 27 at 6:00 p.m. at Benoit’s on Highway 12 in Vidor.  It will feature Cajun music by Sean Ardoin of Louisiana, an award-winning Cajun artist.  “Folks can dance or just listen, bid on auction items, and enjoy photography by local young artists,” says event coordinator Sally Andrews.

The food for the event will be provided by James Brown’s Gumbo House in Vidor, and will include gumbo, rice, potato salad, and something to drink. “Benoit’s is BYOB, and there will be some sodas for sale,” says Andrews.  “The food is going to be fabulous, and if you’ve never had James Brown’s gumbo, now is the time to come try it.”

“James Brown is also donating himself for a fun live auction gift!” Andrews continues. “He is going to prepare a meal for eight, with a cooking lesson thrown in, in someone’s home.  So everyone is going to want to bid on that. It would be fun to get a group of friends and enjoy this!”  Also on the live auction is a luncheon and dessert lesson for four ladies, donated by master cook Peggy Boone.  “If you haven’t tasted her desserts, you’re in for a treat,” says Gayle Nagai, Rotary Club secretary.  Rotary also has a piggy bank for auction.  “No one knows how much money is in it, but we’ve been loading it up,” says club treasurer Johnnie Brown, “so it will be fun to bid on.”

There will be a silent auction including several really nice casino packages, tickets to the Symphony of Southeast Texas for four and $150 to spend at Carrabba’s, tickets to Saturday Night Fever at the Lutcher Theatre along with dinner at PK Grill, lunch at Katharine and Co. along with a nail certificate, a beautiful hand-crafted bench donated by Adam Sessions, bar stools, a tabletop Christmas tree, and a handmade bracelet.

There will also be a cupcake sale.  Some of the cupcakes will be prize winners, with such amazing gifts as a $200 high-heel shoe necklace, food from Wright’s BBQ, a Verizon card, gift cards to Steamboat Bill’s and passes to Shangri La.

“We will have a drawing for a one carat black diamond necklace provided by Cathy Cook Jewelry, and we’re selling tickets on that already,” says Andrews. “They are only $10 each, with all donations going to the programs of Rotary.  We will draw for the necklace that evening, although it’s not necessary to be present to win.”

Tickets for the event are only $10, and all of the money will go to the Rotary Club due to the generosity of the City of Vidor’s HOT grant program.  Tickets for the black diamond necklace are also on sale, and are $10 each. For tickets, call 409-651-8390, email sandrews@vidorisd.org, or contact a Vidor Rotarian.