Photo by Blane FaulEach year Louisiana has a chance to make Mardi Gras count for more than barrels of beads and king cake when the Mystick Krewe of Louisianians marches into Washington, D.C. It’s that rare “show and tell” of the best of Louisiana, and this year Acadiana landed front and center.
Both the king and queen, chosen by our own U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, hailed from Lafayette — PetroQuest Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Goodson and college sophomore Amelia Grace Zepernick — as did this year’s official artist, Tony Bernard.
The 2015 theme, The Land of Coastal Riches, was certainly an apt homage to the oil and gas industry where Goodson has made his mark — from founding American Explorer, which later became PetroQuest, to serving in various professional organizations and on the board of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The Hilton in D.C. was full of Acadiana party-goers, among them Roxanne Graham, Aaron and Liz Hebert, Mark Ackal and Elizabeth Bernard. Events ran from Thursday through Saturday with dozens of events and a ball where Zepernick and Goodson reigned supreme — not the first go at Mardi Gras royalty for Zepernick. The University of Notre Dame co-ed served as a maid in the Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association’s tableau last year and was the Children’s Krewe of Versailles queen at 14.
View more photos from 2015 Carnival on The IND’s Mardi Gras gallery at www.theind.com.