{"id":12091,"date":"2024-02-29T10:53:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T16:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=12091"},"modified":"2024-03-07T10:55:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T16:55:12","slug":"catwoman-takes-on-a-mardi-gras-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2024\/02\/29\/catwoman-takes-on-a-mardi-gras-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"Catwoman Takes On A Mardi Gras Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I grew up in God\u2019s country, but you might know it as Ville Platte, Louisiana. Mardi Gras in Ville Platte looks like a gravel road, a belly full of Old Charter and grown men throwing chickens in the air. We won\u2019t discuss how old I was the first time 80 proof whiskey touched my lips (sorry, Mom). People stand on horses and dance to \u201cLe Danse de Mardi Gras<\/i>,\u201d and you can find a cauldron of jambalaya cooking every 100 feet.<\/p>\n

When I first moved to Lake Charles in 2008, I was quite surprised to learn that not every Mardi Gras includes capuchons<\/i>. Instead of seeing your MawMaw in her moomoo rocking on the front porch, in Southwest Louisiana you\u2019re more likely to find her all dressed up in a sparkly gown. No chickens. No Old Charter. No cauldrons.<\/p>\n

After my husband and I set our roots down in Carlyss we were lucky enough to be adopted by a great group of friends who invite us every year to the Krewe of Athena\u2019s Mardi Gras ball. Lucky for me, Athena\u2019s ball is a themed costume ball. It\u2019s right up my alley, since I was borning one iota about fashion. Almost every single thing in my closet can be traced back to SHEIN, Walmart or, if the occasion calls for something fancier, Target. I\u2019m a plain Jane when it comes to clothing, and I fly that flag proudly.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s ball theme was Heroes and Villains and our group planned for the men to each dress as Batman and their partners as different villains. One of my girlfriends was Harley Quinn, the other was a female version of the Joker. I was instructed (probably because of the aforementioned disease) to dress as Catwoman. I logged onto Amazon and ordered a black leotard and accessories. My husband, who happens to think he is the world\u2019s funniest person, chose to surprise our friends by dressing up as Robin, Batman\u2019s lesser known sidekick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Now that you know I don\u2019t care about fashion at all, you might think I\u2019m a down to earth, easy-going gal. Not so, my friend. Not so. I may not care about what I wear but I care a great deal about what I drink. This is something my pocketbook hates about me. Over the years I have accidentally developed a bougie palate for both food and wine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I could never order a glass of the house wine. Absolutely not. So, you understand that I could not just show up at the West Cal Event center for this ball and order a glass of whatever red wine they happened to have available behind the bar. That just wouldn\u2019t do. (If you\u2019re annoyed by my pretension, please know I am, too.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On our way out the door, one of my daughters mentioned to me that Catwoman steals jewelry so I threw on my loudest gold pieces before moseying over to the store to grab a couple bottles (yes, two bottles, more on this later) of my favorite cabernet sauvignon. Marvin made his grand entrance at the ball with, \u201cDid anyone order a sidekick,\u201d before laughing at his own joke.\u00a0 We paid the corkage fees and settled in for the presentation of the court.<\/p>\n

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The Krewe of Athena is a women\u2019s krewe that was formed in 2001. It\u2019s tradition that the court be kept secret until the big presentation on the night of the ball. Every krewe does things a little differently, but I love that this particular krewe picks their royalty out of a cup.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been using the same LSU cup since the very beginning. We put all of the members\u2019 names on slips of paper and pick that way,\u201d says Ramona Landry, krewe founder. \u201cI never wanted to mess with the politics that come with doing it differently. Usually whoever starts the krewe is the captain for many years until they eventually step down, but I didn\u2019t want to do that either.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Krewe of Athena\u2019s captain is chosen annually from that same purple and gold cup. In a tradition that depicts how fun the women of Athena are, the founding members get together, pull the names for court and then jump in a party bus to surprise them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe show up at their house on a Sunday afternoon and take them to drink and eat pizza. They don\u2019t know we\u2019re coming until we show up.\u201d The royalty is picked in the summer, about six months before the ball takes place.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The Krewe of Athena is a Sulphur krewe and it\u2019s been really fun for me to party with the same familiar faces each year. Landry says being in a krewe is about more than just the annual ball. \u201cPhilanthropy and sisterhood are important, especially for our members.\u201d Every year Athena\u2019s members participate in the Ethel Precht Cancer walk and host a flamingo bingo fundraiser where the krewe members\u2019 male partners serve as waiters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of the men\u2019s tips are donated to a cause very near and dear to the women. \u201cWithout Tracy Beaugh this krewe wouldn\u2019t exist,\u201d says Landry. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have been able to get a single thing done without her.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beaugh was one of 10 founding members, an instructor in SOWELA\u2019s graphic art department who passed away in 2013 after a battle with cancer. \u201cThat was the hardest thing we\u2019ve been through, losing her.\u201d In her honor, the krewe donates $750 in both the fall and spring semesters to a SOWELA graphic art student.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It Gets A Little Hazy<\/p>\n

The lights were turned down low and as the court was announced the crowd erupted in cheers. The women promenaded down the center aisle walking from side to side and curtsying to the crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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                I grew up in God\u2019s country, but you might know it as Ville Platte, Louisiana. Mardi Gras in Ville Platte looks like a gravel road, a belly full of Old Charter and grown men throwing chickens in the air. 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