Mardi Gras: History in hand

The Orange Festival Queen and Rice Festival Queen,

both representing festivals more than a half century old, compare their scepters while waiting. The Orange scepter has been passed down for six decades.

The thrill of victory?

Among the more challenging events were the satsuma race--in which three entire satsumas (like mandarin oranges) are eaten at once--and the kumquat stuffing, in which as many kumquats as possible are stuffed into the competitor's mouth (though not consumed). The respective winners were Jenna Levert, Gonzales Jambalaya Queen (left), and Blaine Nielsen, the current Orange Queen (right), though these were victories neither could celebrate with a smile, for obvious reasons.

Go speed racer, go!

Among the citrus-themed events, festival queens participated in citrus peeling contests (to see who could make the longest ribbon of peel) and rapid orange-eating. The Andouille, St. John Sugar, Gheens Bon Mange, Orange, and Gonzales Jambalaya queens show how it's done.

Heart attack on a plate.

This Orange Festival midway offering looks really really good and really really bad all at once. Please don't tell the Surgeon General.

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.

Into the woods

It was cool enough by Louisiana standards (you know, 50's) to require winter coats as the festival queens from around the state arrived and explored the orange groves. Queen Cotton discovers that it isn't easy to pick oranges and keep your crown on at the same time. (Photos: Dawn Childs)

Not just for breakfast anymore: Plaquemines Parish Orange Festival

The Plaquemines Parish Orange festival is a 62-year tradition unbowed by hurricanes, including Katrina, which wiped out its original hometown and cost citrus growers 10 million dollars in losses. Though Buras, in the southern end of Lousiana's southermost parish, is still recovering, the festival continues to the north in Belle Chasse. This year's festival drew thousands this past weekend for a high-spirited time symbolized by Blossom and Man-Darin, the roving mascots (top left). Signs everywhere proclaimed "Think Orange" and there were plenty of citrus-themed activities, including orange races and citrus cook-offs, as well an art competition, whose winners included the maker of the all-fruit carnival scene below, which features terrified kumquats clearly desperate to get off the ride. (Top photo: Orange Festival. Bottom photo: Dawn Childs.)