Mardi-Bras on Facebook

Lisa Farinaccio of Cherrylicious, and one of our own Mardi-Bra artists has graciously gone to the trouble of setting up a Facebook event page for us! Please feel free to invite your entire friends list and share with everyone you know!

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We'll have a (basket) ball!

Mardi-Bras is proud to announce its two latest submissions to our silent auction: a fine-looking basketball and jersey, both signed by the Harlem Globetrotters! These two exciting items were kindly donated to our silent auction by Dave Staffen of Send Out Cards.









Send Out Cards features more than 16,000 cards, which you send from your computer through the post to a friend or family member. Your recipient gets a physical card from you that they will treasure. Send Out Cards has more than 500 Christmas cards and over 200 Hallowe'en cards! You can also design your own one-of-a-kind card when you want to let that one-of-a-kind person know that you are thinking of them. Dave invites you to visit the website to send a free card.

A future post to our Mardi-Bras blog will be about Dave's other generous donation to our silent auction and more information about his company, Send Out Cards.

Thank you so much Dave Staffen of Send Out Cards!

Fuzzy fun!

Banjo Puppets has once again added some fuzz and fun to the Mardi-Bras silent auction! We are the proud temporary custodians of three little puppets, who are all eagerly waiting for new homes! The puppets donated by Banjo Puppets for last year's silent auction were a hit and more than one person was sad not to go home with one of the adorable critters. (They are very trainable!)

Banjo Puppets is a Toronto-based company, which makes fabulous hand-crafted puppets that have been featured on television, in music videos, on live stage and in festivals.


Joel even made us a Mardi-Bras exclusive. She is so glittery, drag queens would think she's a bit much. We've named her Zsa Zsa. Won't you consider giving a home to one of these wonderful puppets?


Thanks so much to Banjo Puppets!

An old-fashioned way to beat breast cancer

Jamie Pratt has donated two handmade books to the Mardi-Bras silent auction!

Several years ago Jamie took a course on bookbinding and has subsequently bound dozens and dozens of books; both old volumes with worn bindings, which required some loving care to once more become treasured objects and new books made from blank pages. Jamie is currently rebinding an early 19th-century set of Samuel Johnson's works. After rebinding each volume in the set, Jamie is reading it, so by the end he will have read all of Johnson's papers, introductions, essays, novels, etc.

The two books Jamie has donated to Mardi-Bras are purse/pocket size and have blank papers which are perfect for jotting down thoughts, recording journal entries or for drawings.

Thanks so much to Jamie Pratt!

The Bata Shoe Museum helps us take a step towards curing breast cancer

The Bata Shoe Museum, one of Toronto's great museums, has kindly donated a Family Pass to Mardi-Bras' silent auction!

The Bata Shoe Museum features a one-of-a-kind collection; shoes from all walks of life! The Museum has tens of thousands of boots, mules, slippers, clogs, pumps, sandals, etc. Each one has a fascinating story, such as shoes worn by Elton John, ballerina Karen Kain, or "lotus" shoes for bound feet once considered the high of beauty for women in China. The collection of the Museum spans the globe and 4,500 years of history!

The Museum also features a charming section about how shoes have played a role in children's literature over the centuries. (Where would Cinderella be without her shoes?)

Thank you so much to the Bata Shoe Museum!

All Dressed Returns!

Our latest contribution to the Mardi-Bras silent auction recently arrived from Arlen of All Dressed couture!

Like last year, it's another gorgeous handmade scarf, using a silk blend velvet lined with 100% silk charmeuse and chiffon. She does the burn out pattern by hand and as always, her work is absolutely flawless.

All Dressed is Arlen's own label. She is an accomplished couture with an education in historical costume and can handle any kind of special request. Arlen has created everything from original costumes for bands, film, television to tiny puppets and enormous mascots, and replicas for those of us with a taste for authentic Hallowe'en costumes. She also handles custom-fit corsetry, bridal and evening wear.











Thank you so much Arlen of All Dressed!

It was in the cards

Mardi-Bras is delighted to have our tarot card reader return from last year's event.

Since childhood, Leanne has felt a special calling to the imaginative power of archetype, and has devoted much time and study in her adult life to further understand the mysteries of our universal story. She considers the time she spends reading the cards as a spiritual practice, intended to shine a light on situations in our lives that can confound us if we do not recognize the richness and complexities that surround our circumstances.

Please spend some time with Leanne and the tarot to help us beat breast cancer at Mardi-Bras!