Come celebrate Mardi Gras & Carnival—the exuberant party before the season of Lent begins—and join us for an afternoon of top-quality jazz at Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis. New Orleans has Mardi Gras; Brazil and the Caribbean have Carnival. Celebrate these fabulous musical traditions with a benefit concert at 4:00pm on Sunday, February 16.

Bill Simenson and his Longfellow Jazz All-Stars will transport you to New Orleans and beyond. Bill is a highly respected teacher, musician, composer, and band leader in the Twin Cities. He’s also a Longfellow resident. Bill’s assembled several other great jazz musicians that also live in Longfellow for this home-grown Mardi Gras celebration.

The concert is free; an offering will be taken to support Christ Church Lutheran’s partner congregation Bethlehem Lutheran in New Orleans

Bill Simenson Longfellow Jazz All Stars
Bill Simenson – Trumpet
Gus Sandberg – Tenor Sax
Pete Enblom – Trombone
Ted Godbout – Piano
Bruce Heine – Bass
Dave Schmalenberger – Drums
Charmin Miichelle – Vocals

Christ Church Lutheran is a welcoming congregation of the ELCA. The church complex, designed by noted Finnish-American architects Eliel Saarinen and his son Eero Saarinen, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated by the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark for its groundbreaking post WWII design.