Fat Tuesday is getting ready to kick off in Macon! For more on this as well as some other fun things to do local musician Betsy Fitzgerald stopped by with her list of ideas:

Here are Betsy’s items for this week:

Hodgson Wind Ensemble and the Bulldog Brass Society

Student musicians from the University of Georgia are the featured performers during the inaugural UGA Sounds Across Georgia tour. Cynthia Johnston Turner, director of bands at the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, will lead student musicians as they perform military marches, show-tunes and original compositions. The performance will also feature guest artist Phil Smith, former principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic., as well as the Bulldog Brass Society, UGA's premier graduate brass quintet. The concert, featuring UGA’s Hodgson Wind Ensemble, will be held at Perry High School’s Theatre for the Performing Arts on Feb. 20. UGA Sounds Across Georgia is a new music outreach program, designed to introduce world-renowned music faculty and gifted student performers from the Hodgson School to people throughout the state. During the next few years, choral, band, chamber and orchestra ensembles will perform for the enjoyment of communities and will provide Georgia's school-aged youth access to professional musical assemblies and hands-on instruction.

Hodgson Wind Ensemble and the Bulldog Brass Society
Friday, February 20, 2015
7:30 PM
Perry High School, 1307 North Ave., Perry
Free event, no tickets required

Mardi Gras Downtown

If you can’t be in the Big Easy for Mardi Gras, Downtown Macon is a great alternative on Fat Tuesday. This fun, family-friendly progressive event kicks off at Ocmulgee Traders featuring a complimentary wine tasting with sommelier Allan Bass and a mask-making booth. The next stop will be at Kudzu Seafood, Macon’s newest seafood restaurant, with delicious samples of their menu. Jean Bragg’s beautiful store Travis Jean will offer free chicory coffee and Parish on Cherry, a New Orleans-style restaurant, will show off their not so diet-friendly beignets. Groups are encouraged to dress up and compete for the Best Group Costume contest with great prizes. I also hear there will be a jazz parade down Cherry Street, which will kick off at Third Street Park.

Mardi Gras Downtown
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
5:00-7:00 PM
Progressive event starts at Ocmulgee Traders, 455 Poplar Street, Macon

Tags: Leah Fleming, Betsy Fitzgerald, middle GA