Mardi Gras gives locals the chance to be Royal

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Peter Verret knows a thing or two about adrenaline rushes and big days.

As the longtime volleyball coach at H.L. Bourgeois, Verret has guided the Lady Braves to some of the most successful seasons in school history – a program that’s in contention year-in and year-out for state championships.

But when the volleyball season ends and the weather changes from warm to Louisiana cold, Verret trades bumps, digs and spikes for beads, doubloons and Moon Pies. 


And that’s a trade he’s always willing to make.

Verret is one of dozens of locals who have been bitten by Mardi Gras fever – a party-loving illness that’s hooked thousands of locals over the years.

A longtime rider, Verret has had the honor of riding as royalty – a privilege he and his wife enjoyed in 2012 when they were King and Queen of the Krewe of Ambrosia in Thibodaux. The timing of the ride is significant because at the time, it marked the first time in more than 50 years that Thibodaux had a night parade.


Verret said being ‘King for a day’ is an honor and something he and his family will never forget. 

“It’s hard to put into words,” Verret said. “You see all these people you know and they’re screaming at you asking you to throw them something. My first thought is always, ‘Oh shoot, do I have enough stuff?’ But you always have what you need, and you get to the end of the route, the music stops and you just look at your family and friends and say, ‘Goodness, can we do this again tomorrow?’ It’s just a magical, wonderful experience. It’s hard for someone to explain it well to someone who has not been part of it.”

It’s an experience that folks say they remember forever.


Verret said it affects the whole family.

First, there’s the decision that one has been named king or queen. Then, there’s the planning and getting special beads and other items that one might need.

“You always want to make sure that you have as much as possible,” Verret said. “You know how people in south Louisiana are. We want to make sure we have something for everyone.”


Then, there’s the process of picking Pages, Maids, Dukes and everyone else in the royal family. And for some, there are special heart strings attached, as well.

Laura Guidry is the Queen of the Krewe of Athena in Golden Meadow. Guidry, a longtime rider, said this year’s ride will be in honor of her late mother, who would have turned 87 in late-January.

“This year, I’m riding the parade for (her) because she loved Mardi Gras just like me,” Guidry said. 


Throughout the process, Guidry has been documenting the experience on social media, posting photos of her different outings and events she’d had to attend as obligations of being royalty. She said it’s all been amazing.

“I am a sponge,” she said. “I’m soaking it all in. I am enjoying every minute as a Queen.”

Verret said he can second that thought. He said he now rides in Houma, adding that the connections and friendships that you make during the experience are what makes Mardi Gras the most fun.


“The people I ride with – we can do this once a week,” Verret said. “That’s just how into it we all are.”

Verret said he, like everyone else, likes the Christmas season, but once Santa passes and the final gifts are open, he said he starts to get a little bit of that itch. 

“Once the New Year gets here, it’s really Mardi Gras time,” he said. “That’s when it really all starts and it all really starts to get real.”


The party now is bigger than ever, too.

Many people don’t know, but Houma-Thibodaux Mardi Gras is now second to New Orleans in popularity, according to attendance records that have been collected over the past decade at parades.

That means that being a local king/queen means that you’re reigning over some of the most popular, well-attended parades in the world – literally.


It gives Verret goosebumps to think about it – even to this day.

“It’s been a while for my family and I, but it’s still something that we so dearly cherish,” Verret said. “We just love Mardi Gras. It’s something that’s such a special time. People from all over the place come together and have a good time with one another – hand in hand. That’s something you just don’t see all the time in the world. But one time a year, it happens here every year. And to be over it all as part of the royalty, it’s even better when it happens. It’s truly a mystic experience.”

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