For those of us who can’t make it to New Orleans’ French Quarter for this year’s Fat Tuesday celebration, Ohio University Southern has a fun, inexpensive and family friendly alternative to the pre-Lent season of Carnival.

The OUS ACTION Psychology Club will be hosting its third annual Taste of Mardi Gras in the Mains Rotunda on campus on March 1. The event is free and open to the public.

Christopher Wilson, the club’s president, said he hopes the community will help them celebrate by bringing a Cajun-themed dish for all to taste. The dishes will be voted on and the winner will receive a prize. Wilson said members of the club will be making gumbo, jambalaya and spicy black bean stew.

Entry for the Taste of Mardi Gras contest is free. The club will be selling tokens to try the food. Each token is $1, or $5 for six tokens. All the money collected will go towards the club’s community projects, Wilson said.

“Everything we do here, all the money we make is going back into our community and our area to do different things,” he said. “We do a lot of small things in the community.”

The club awards a scholarship to a student in the psychology program each year, raises awareness for mental health and does outreach in the community for families in need, Wilson said.

Wilson also said there would be a silent auction for different themed baskets.

“One of the baskets is going to have an OU theme, shirts, apparel, all this other stuff,” he said. “Another basket is going to be a fast food themed basket.”

Besides good food and a chance for prizes, Wilson said the event would be a good time.

“It gives people an excuse to dress silly, be loud and do things like that,” he said, and encourages the community to come dressed in their best Mardi Gras masks. “I think (the club is) forcing me to dress up, so…”

The Taste of Mardi Gras will be from 2-8 p.m. in the Rotunda at OU. To register for the best dish contest, contact Nina Queen at 533-4548.