Carnival A-Z: Queens

The traditional carnival organization will, each year, select a court to rule over that year’s festivities. The most customary of the roles are (or are some variation on) the king, the queen, and the maids. The King is typically chosen from the krewe’s membership (though the “Super Krewes” are known for selecting celebrity monarchs). As for the maids and queen, the selection process varies from group to group. For Zulu, the queen is typically the King’s wife. For some groups like the Krewe of Alexis or the Mystic Club the queen and her attendants are the wives of members. For some groups the queen is herself a member. The most traditional method is that observed by the 17 "White Dress Balls" or "Deb Balls."

My Lovely Wife reigning as Queen of the Caliphs of Cairo in 2003Each of the 17 debutante-presenting organizations selects one of the current season’s debutantes to reign as the queen of their festivities. The vast, overwhelming majority of the maids are also debutantes. A young woman in New Orleans becomes a debutante by being presented in one of several presentations held by such groups as the Debutante Club, the Bachelor’s Club, or the Pickwick Club. Being a Debutante though does not immediately ensure a young woman a slot as a maid or monarch; She must have a family member (typically her father) take the necessary steps to ensure her presentation in the ball. Much more preparation is required for a girl to be selected as queen, than merely to be a maid. Typically a queen has a father (or grandfather) that has provided many, many hours of service to the organization. A young lady typically makes her début during her junior or senior year in college, i.e. when she is about 21 years old.

Whereas the identity of members of the krewe is kept secret, the identities of the maids and queen of a krewe are publicly revealed, and even published in the society section of the paper. The experience of reigning as a queen over one of these balls is almost always one of the highlights of these young ladies lives. For that very reason you’ll hear a woman from New Orleans speak with deep fondness of her time as queen, whether it was the year before, or 50 years prior.

Comments

[Daryl]

17 - I never realized that. the T-P was slacking on getting Nolan's posts up on Nola.com this year. I'll let it slide thought given all the focus on the Saints.

[Ryan Lee Waldron]

Many of her articles never go to nola.com, they just go straight to the t-p archives, where it costs $3 to view an article.