PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Medical Center Foundation is offering the opportunity to celebrate Mardi Gras carnival where it all began — in Nice, France.
The February tour, the foundation’s first trip abroad, also will include visits to the French and Italian rivieras, Florence and a pre-tour of Paris, France, to savor some of the art and rich cultural traditions of Europe.
The foundation is doing this trip for two reasons. It wants to bring OMC employees, OMC Foundation supporters and the OMC community together, but it also will be another fundraiser for the foundation.
“As the Tour Operator, we will be paid fees and commissions,” OMC Foundation Executive Director Bruce Skinner said.
The centerpiece of the trip will be the Nice Carnival, which dates back to 1294 and spawned all other Mardi Gras carnivals in the world.
The world’s foremost expert on Mardi Gras, Annie Sidro of Nice, will lead tours of the area, including a behind-the-scenes look at the intricate papier-mache floats before they tower some 40 to 65 feet above parade crowds.
“We’re going to get to go where no one else can go,” said Skinner, a five-time visitor to these events, who will escort tour-goers on the trip.
The cost begins at $2,900 per person for double occupancy and includes seven nights lodging in four-star hotels in Nice and Viareggo, tickets to three Carnival events, full buffet breakfast, four dinners, all transportation and experienced guides.
A pre-tour in Paris will cost an additional $900 per person.
Skinner is aiming for mid-September to reserve spots on the tour.
The pre-tour of Paris will begin Feb. 12. Guided tours will include visits to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, the Louvre and the D’Orsay. A dinner cruise on the Seine will offer views of the Eiffel Tower lit at night.
Participants will have free time to shop or visit any of the attractions of the City of Light before they take a fast train to the French Riviera and Nice.
Those who skip the pre-tour of Paris can fly directly to Nice on Feb. 15.
All will experience a welcome dinner at a rooftop restaurant, the tour of the float barns the next day and the Mardi Gras Corso Parade the day after.
Another highlight will be Battle of Flowers Parade on Feb. 18. First staged in 1876, the Nice parade inspired the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, Calif.
Also on the itinerary is a trip to Florence to see Michelangelo’s statue of David, the Ufizi Galleries, the Ponte Vecchio as well as a trip to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and walled city of Lucca.
The grand finale of the trip will be viewing the Carnival in Viareggio Parade, one of the best parades in the world, Skinner said, with floats up to five stories high.
Tour participants will return to the United States on Feb. 22.
Mardi Gras celebrations such as those in New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro and Venice are held in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Author and historian Sidro, who will serve as a guide, has been fascinated by the Nice Carnival since childhood, her family having been chosen to create the King Carnival Float since 1897.
She was inducted into the International Festivals & Events Hall of Fame in 1998 for her work on the celebration of Carnival throughout the world.
For more information about the Mardi Gras tour, contact Skinner at bruce@omhf.org or 360-808-3204.
For more about the foundation, visit omhf.org.
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Leah Leach is a former executive editor for Peninsula Daily News.
