Mardi Gras: Hail to the Queens, II

The queens were often cheered on by attendees from their own parishes. Cattle Queen Kristen, Gonzales Jambalaya Queen Jenna, Queen Cotton Brandy, Dixie Gem Peach Queen Jennifer, Fur & Wildlife Queen Lauren, and Frog Queen Chelsea are shown taking their turns in the spotlight, with especially raucous supporters for Fur and Frog. (Note: If I have mixed up any queens, please do correct me.)

Gifts of the sea

The refuge ends at the Gulf of Mexico at a lovely beach of coarse, pale sand. Except it isn’t sand at all, but the tiny remnants of countless wave-worn shells. The queens enjoyed picking among the abundant in tact shells, some as big as grapefruit.

Not so fast

Trying to squeeze through a narrow cut-out in dense marsh,

Refuge Manager Perry (left), the Cotton Queen Brandy Matulich

(far right), and the Fur & Wildlife Pageant director Vicki Little

(near right), found themselves stuck and listing to one side—

not a problem except for being miles from true terra firma

with a lively alligator population calling the marsh home. But

with Scooter adding his muscle and talking Vicki through

driving while he and Guthrie gave a good heave, the airboat

and its passengers ended up free in the end.

Home is where the hurt is

The banner at right is hung on the Christmas tree in the children's room of the Calcasieu Women's Shelter, where the Fur Queen was joined by the Frog and Cotton queens for a morning of community service, helping do clean-up, sorting children's toys, and doing small home repairs in the women's rooms. Hearing from a shelter staffer that a woman is abused every 9 seconds somewhere in the country really made an impression. As Brandy, the Cotton Queen (far right), said after meeting several of the families housed there, “I realized how sheltered I’ve actually been.”

The Queen Mother only wears a hat in England

Politicians love to talk about "soccer moms," but Louisiana has a special breed of its own: Queen Moms. These are the moms of festival queens, who often drive their daughters all over the state and, in some cases, put in nearly as many hours on behalf of their festivals as the queens do. One Queen Mom--as her lapel pin identifies her--is Dawn Childs, mother of Queen Cotton Brandy Matulich. Dawn always has her camera with her, which makes her one of the Mamarazzi (one of my favorite terms), and the Orange Festival photos here are all hers.

Burn, Baby, Burn: Festival of the Bonfires

Lutcher, Lousiana (population 3,600) is home to one of the state’s most visually arresting traditions: the festival of the bonfire. This weekend, 18-foot tall log pyres will rise alongside the Mississippi levee, and each night, a different one will be set ablaze. This is a prelude to Christmas Eve, when 100 such bonfires will illuminate the levees throughout St. James Parish, a tradition that local legend says grew out of a need to light Santa’s way through the Bayou. The festival period actually started two weeks ago with Bonfire pageant day, when visiting festival queens (including Fur, Cotton, and Cattle, pictured) came from around the state to kick things off.
Photos left and right from Nola.com and Dawn Childs, respectively.