ABOVE: Joyce Leaphart, Atlanta Hilton Hotel; Jim McNabb, staffing technologies, sponsorship committee; Martha Baumgardner, auction committee; Colin Brady, krewe committee; Alice Woods, balloon pop chair; Anne Shearer, queen 2000; Ed Reynolds, king carnival 2006, president Cingular Wireless Networks, co-sponsor; Peggy Reynolds, queen carnival 2006; Marianne Broadbear, chair; Sue Mangold, past chair; Lori Stover, decorations chair; Andrew Dietz, Creative Growth Group, Inc., sponsorship committee; Lisa McCord, princess chair.

The pageantry of Mardi Gras returns to Atlanta Feb. 18 at Carnival 2006, the annual benefit for the Atlanta College of Art. A gala celebration of dining, dancing and entertainment, the Beaux Arts Ball will be held in the Garden Court and Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Atlanta Hotel. More than 600 guests from around the Southeast are expected to join in the festive fun. $250. 404/733-5060.

LEFT: Peggy and Ed Reynolds, Carnival 2006 queen and king