“It’s not the only reason I come to this thing,” I joked to lead organizer, Marigny DeMauriac, as I grabbed my seat at New Orleans’ third annual International Women’s Day, “but the breakfast is always really REALLY good.” The room was full of energy. Mostly women, but also men, from 20 years old, to 35 years old, to 75 years old — breakfast cocktails in hand — strolled into Propeller Incubator‘s main room, chatting, laughing, and perusing the program outlining the morning’s agenda.
The event is put on each March by the Mid-City Rotary Club of New Orleans – a group of New Orleanians who are driven by the motto, “Service First. Drink Second.”
“One evening, over drinks at Finn McCools,” Marigny was telling me about how the event came to be, “the club founder and I decided we needed to bring International Women’s Day to New Orleans.”
“I can’t believe it hadn’t existed here before that,” I took a sip of my complimentary mimosa, provided by Mid-City cocktail bar, Treo.
“That’s what we said!” her voice jumped. “International Women’s Day is celebrated with thousands of events across the world. How is New Orleans not one of them? And, unlike most Rotary clubs, ours is 80% women. We wanted to lead the charge.”
