NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)-  This week we got the awesome invitation to sit down with superstar Chef Donald Link and Hall of Famer Dr. John to talk about giving back in a big way.

Chef Link says the goal is to make a difference.

“I see a lot of problems in this city, and being that we have access to so many people and customers that come here, this kind of notoriety that we have nationally and internationally, we’re in a good position to and it’s a way for us to stand up and say, ‘What can we do to help?” Link says.

That help comes in the form of this weekend’s Link-Stryjewski Bal Masque at the Orpheum Theater.

Chef Link and his partner Chef Stephen Stryjewski decided that the best way they could help was to gather other star chefs from around the globe to help provide funding for a host of great causes in New Orleans. Those causes target young people to be better.

This weekend’s celebration stars Dr. John & The Nite Trippers, and he’s happy to be a part of it.

“Everything is good. The way we do this thing is a blessing,” Dr. John says.

Throwing this kind of celebration is a throw back to how it was done in our city long ago.

“I was reading a lot about the old Creole Mardi Gras balls and the origins of the Creole music, and how it all started to form and how it all came to be,” Link says. “These masked balls at the time, like the 17 and 1800s of this combination of music and how it all formed.”

Click here for info on tickets to the Link-Stryjewski Bal Masque events.

Here is the link to the Link-Stryjewski Foundation