Making a Difference...One Rhinestone at a Time: Louisiana Cotton Festival & Le Tournoi

On Friday, October 14th, the lovely Amanda LaBorde, Woman Natchitoches Meat Pie Queen, ChaCha Isabella, and I had a lively jaunt to South Louisiana. We were actually early (total shock, I know) so I decided to go crawling through a cemetery in Opelousas to take pictures (stay tuned, more info on that project to come in November). We attended the homecoming pep rally and football game for Opelousas Catholic High School, and got to see the fabulous Caroline Cosgrove-Richard (Miss City of Pineville's Outstanding Teen) perform. The evening ended with an amazing dinner at The Steamboat Restaurant in Washington, La - Catfish Dianne, Yum!

Saturday arrived, and we enjoyed a semi-lazy morning, complete with a trip to the nail salon to see Big Daddy and solving a small hairdo crisis. The afternoon arrived, so off to Ville Platte to the Louisiana Cotton Festival Pageant we went. The rich tradition of the Cotton Festival and its royalty were so apparent, and I had an absolutely lovely time. It was also great getting to visit with my Teen sister queen, Ralynn O'Brien! After taking pictures, we took a short drive to Lafayette and met Lady Ray*la*ne Heather Hickey Fox at Prejean's for dinner - again, shall I say Yum!

After a few wrong turns on Sunday, we finally found Le Tournoi. For those of you unfamiliar with this tradition, knights on horses try to spear rings representing the seven evils of cotton (boll weevil, boll worm, rayon, nylon, silk, draught, and flood - who said that pageants are not educational). It's a wonderfully unique event, and a great excuse to tailgate!

A special thank you to Ms. Kelli Buller, the Cosgrove-Richard family, and Amanda LaBorde for making this such a festive weekend. Can't wait to see where we end up next!