Ambrosia makes history with night run

Schriever native Peter Verret III gets to have his king cake and eat it too this Carnival season.

The longtime Krewe of Ambrosia member finally gets to ride under the moonlight and experience a Thibodaux night parade.

After petitioning the Thibodaux Council for more than 20 years, Verret and the parade’s members won the favor of Mayor Tommy Eschete, who supported the krewe’s wishes to roll during nighttime hours during this year’s parade, which takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 11 throughout the parade’s traditional Thibodaux route.

To make things better, Verret and his wife Katherine also serve as the parade’s king and queen, making the entire weekend a perfect situation for the longtime Ambrosia member.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Verret said. “For 27 years, I’ve been begging. … To get it at night after all of these years, really, it’s like a dream come true. To see the city, how pretty it’d be at night with a parade rolling through the streets, it’ll be a special thing to see.”

“It’s going to be the first time we’re going to have had a night parade in the history of Thibodaux,” Eschete said. “It’s exciting. I feel like people are rallying around it because it’s something different.”

The Thibodaux krewe has one shot to make this night parade work.

Eschete said the Thibodaux council’s ordinance to allow the night parade to occur is on a one-year basis, meaning the parade will be moved back to its old day-time slot if problems occur on parade night.

“We’re going to evaluate the challenges that we may have had and then we’re going to determine whether or not to make this a permanent night parade,” Eschete said. “Right now, I know Chief [Scott] Silverii feels confident we won’t have serious issues. And our neighbors over in Terrebonne have been doing them at night for years and I’m sure there’s some issues that occur with any night parade, but they keep doing them year after year, so they are obviously manageable.”

So with the parade set to roll at night on a trial basis, the king has one wish n for everyone to have a good time.

Verret said the Krewe of Ambrosia prides itself on being a throwing krewe, one that is friendly to the audience.

To make that even better, the king said the krewe upped its membership in the past year to close to 600 members, which increases the parade from 20 floats to 31 floats.

Two of the draws this year are LSU standouts T-Bob Hebert and E.D. White’s Chase Clement, who are expected to be Grand Marshals in the parade.

“We’ve actually had trouble in the past with floats because we can never get any big enough,” Verret said with a laugh. “They tell us we can put 25 people in a float, but if we put 25 people, we don’t have enough room for our stuff.

“We’ve always been proud of the amount of stuff that we throw. With 31 floats, if you don’t catch several bags of stuff, you probably didn’t work too hard.”

In addition to the parade’s fun-loving ways, the City of Thibodaux will also do its part to make sure everyone has a good time.

Eschete said that during Ambrosia and throughout the entire Carnival, the city will have a handful of designated family friendly zones where alcohol, tobacco and vulgar music will be prohibited.

“We want to make sure everyone is able to have fun and enjoy the parades in whatever manner they want to,” Eschete said. “And these areas have a good view and have ample space for people to get the full experience.”

Those enjoying Ambrosia from a family friendly zone or any other spot on the parade route will get to see the parade “Turn a Page in History,” the krewe’s 2012 theme.

Verret said he believes he and his krewe will do just that and he hopes the community turns out to pass a good time.

“It’s just a really good family atmosphere,” Verret said. “For my wife and I, it’s almost like we’re getting remarried. All of our friends are here. All of the community is there. It’s just a really good time.

“Everyone is always so happy at Mardi Gras. That’s always been my thing. I think that’s why we enjoy it so much, because of the family, the fun and the friends.”