Animal Welfare League of Alexandria Hosts Annual Mardi Growl

Hundreds of Alexandria residents descended on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday night without any intention of boarding a plane. This crowd was headed for a party in historic Terminal A.

The 2nd Annual Mardi Growl Gala, hosted by the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, transported guests to the Big Easy. Adorned with beads, masks and boas, the animal-loving crowd meandered throughout the terminal bidding on silent auction items, posing for caricature sketches, sipping on “Purr-i-canes” and enjoying small bites from a dozen local restaurants, which of course included Fat Tuesday staple King cake.

The silent auction offering was particularly impressive, totaling more than $32,000 worth of goods and services. Most interesting was the opportunity to dine out with local politicians such as Sen. Scott Brown, Rep. Jim Moran and our very own Alexandria mayor, Bill Euille.

Several local celebrities were in attendance including Old Town Crier Benjamin Fiore-Walker, Jane Wartel of NBC4 and Vola Lawson, the shelter namesake and former city manager. Vola told me about her beloved animals Faulkner and Winston Churchill. She served 15 years, from 1985-2000, the longest tenured city manager in the city’s history. In 1999 she recalled was sitting in a City Council meeting when then Mayor Kerry Donley announced the decision to name the new shelter after her. The existing shelter was located on Payne Street, but was replaced by a new shelter that would open in 2002 on Eisenhower Avenue, for which she had raised funds.

AWLA hopes to exceed the $85,000 raised at last year’s event, which allows them to provide temporary homes for the more than 3,500 pets that come through the shelter doors every year.