On the Road with Louisiana Festivals

Louisiana is fairly well known for its love of life and love of parties. There are well over 300 festivals throughout the state of Louisiana where we celebrate EVERYTHING! I'm serious - if you can shuck it, cook it, farm it, refine it, dance to it, or call it home, we celebrate it with a fair or festival in Louisiana. Many of these festivals host a pageant and crown royalty to not only reign over the festivities, but also to promote the event throughout the year. I've had the wonderful opportunity to represent several festivals including the Cracklin Festival, Cattle Festival, Washington Catfish Festival, and the Frog Festival. The young ladies who represent these organizations travel each weekend across the state to promote their industries and events, and their dedication is inspiring. Over the last month, I have had the opportunity to criss-cross the state as a guest of several festivals including the Plaquemines Parish & Orange Festival in Belle Chasse, the LA Gumbo Festival in Chackbay, and the LA Cattle Festival in my hometown of Abbeville. Thank you all for being such wonderful hosts and hostesses, and good luck to all of the new royalty as you all begin a year of incredible experiences!

(Former Cattle Festival Queen w/ the 2009 Cattle Festival Queen & Miss LA USA -- the 2009 Teen LA Cattle Festival Queen)

(2009 Ms. Cattle Festival Queen -- Winning reaction of the 2009 Miss LA Cattle Festival Queen)

(Nicky, Mrs. LA US director & former Ms. LA Cattle Festival Queen with AK)

(2009 Orange Festival Queen -- 2008 Orange King & Queen make their entrance)

(AK and the 2008 Ms. Gumbo Festival Queen)

Miss & Teen Southwest Louisiana Pageants

On Sunday, I attended and emceed the Miss and Teen Southwest Louisiana pageants, prelims to Miss LA & Miss LA Teen USA. I did NOT envy the judges! There were 14 beautiful young ladies competing for the two titles, and I was happy to be on the mic instead of on the stage or behind the judges' table. After a tough competition, Kelsey Owen was crowned the 2009 Teen Southwest LA and Valeria Williams captured the title of Miss Southwest LA. Following the pageant, it was great to visit with a few fellow titleholders and old friends we see all too rarely. Good luck to the new titleholders as they represent southwest LA over Halloween weekend in Lafayette in the Miss LA and Miss LA Teen USA pageants. For more information, visit www.MissLouisianaUSA.com.

And the new Mrs. United States is...

South Carolina! Congratulations to all of the amazing women in the Class of 2009, and a special congratulations to the Top 12 and Top 5.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the members of Team Louisiana -- those who were cheering in the audience, and those who were cheering around the country! Your love and support are always appreciate and know that I love and support you all in return. Going into my first experience at a national Mrs. pageant, I was eager, anxious, and nervous. I worried if I had been married long enough, understood the competition well enough, and if I was involved enough in my community. I prepared as best I could, and arrived in Vegas with the same concerns. Immediately, my fears were eliminated during registration as all of the contestants grouped together for photos, found things in common, and began to create friendships. This welcoming and approachable atmosphere set the tone for the rest of the week as we laughed, rehearsed, took more photos, and generally had a great time. I can honestly say that I had a wonderful week competing for this title, and would recommend that others give it a chance as well. The only thing I can say though, is that it will be unfortunate that future Mrs. Louisiana United States titleholders will not be able to have this national pageant experience with my group of ladies -- the incredible women of the Mrs. United States Class of 2009! Ones fellow contestants really make the experience worth while, and the group this year was an incredible blend of beauty, grace, intelligence, and accomplishment. Hope to see you all again soon, and I'm looking forward to getting back to work as Mrs. LA United States!

(A portion of Team LA enjoying Vegas post-pageant with dinner @ Paris; the Grand Canyon from the plane on the way home)

Final Rehearsal and Final Night

In only a few hours, we will crown a new Mrs. United States, and I can't believe how quickly the time has flown both preparing for this event and during the last few days. Our choreographer consistently reminded us today that the odds of winning are against us. Sure, it sounds negative at first, but it certainly is true. Each delegate has a 1 in 54 chance of winning. And as I have heard a brilliant emcee say each year at Miss LA USA, only one woman will leave with the title, so find something else to get out of this experience. I can say without hesitation that I DID get something other than a national title out of this experience, so far. Today, I learned that not only are these women amazing, but so are their families. My roommate, Mrs. New Hampshire, introduced a few of us to her daughter, Eva, who will be in the 2nd grade this year. Eva is making a film about "What is Beauty?" and requested that a few of us help her. And yes, you read that correctly, she is 7 years old, going into the 2nd grade, and she is making a film for an art project. She was absolutely adorable! She started the camera and did a fantastic introduction before asking each of us to let her know what we think beauty is. I have to admit that when it was my turn to answer the question, I was still mesmerized by this very mature and incredibly articulate young lady...so much so, that I nearly forgot what we were supposed to be doing, and my jaw may still have been dropped! It's wonderful to see these wonderful ladies passing along their talents, passions, and love of life to their children. All of the ladies seem to have a great attitude about competing, and it appears that each delegate understands that we are all lucky to be here, we all leave with a title, and it's a pageant, so if we don't win, we can be disappointed, but we can't be devastated!

Here are a few pictures from our final rehearsal:

Rehearsal Day #3 & Prelims

Once again, all I can say about these women is "wow"! The delegates for Mrs. United States 2009 range in age from their 20s to their 50s, they have multiple & terminal degrees, they are stay at home moms, they are active in their communities, and they are incredible. I feel very fortunate to be here and counted among them. I am also very proud to now call these women my friends.

This morning, Prince's "Baby, I'm a Star" (aka, the opening production song) officially became an ear worm as I woke up and immediately started singing it! (lol) We rehearsed the entire show today, and I think that all of us felt very prepared as we took the stage for preliminary swimsuit and evening gown competitions. I'm calling my swimsuit and evening gown rounds successes since neither ended in me falling down the stairs, a wardrobe malfunction, or an unplanned swan dive off the stage onto the judges' table. Oh yes, and a BIG BIG BIG thank you to the husband of Mrs. Kansas United States 2009 for helping all 54 delegates navigate the stairs this evening - you and your wife looked absolutely stunning all evening!

Another big thank you to Team Louisiana out in full force complete with "AK on a Stick", loud voices, and even a foam #1 finger. Even though the lights were fairly bright, I could catch a glimpse of the whole team, and especially my hubby, Jackson, from time to time, and all I could do was smile and laugh. I appreciate all of their love & support and I hope to make them proud tomorrow night.

Here are a few pics from rehearsals and prelims:

Rehearsal Day #2 & Interview

Well, another full day of rehearsals, but I must say, the production looks fantastic! Imagine, a full stage of 54 amazing women all in red...now I sort of wish I was going to be in the audience to see it. Rehearsals ended a little early today to give all of the delegates time to relax and prepare for interviews. Each delegate met individually with a panel of five judges for three minutes -- personally, I wish it had been 10 minutes. Any of you that know me well enough know that as long as I'm talking, I'm relaxed, so interview is my favorite part of the competition. Well, I survived the three minute grilling (lol!) and emerged unscathed. Here are a few pics from day 2 of rehearsals and from interview:

Rehearsal Day #1 & a Night Out

This morning, we learned a little more about our pageant week and what to expect before jumping head first into rehearsals. Led by our fearless choreographer, Natalie, I think we just might make it through the entire production on Wednesday and Thursday. We will be quite a site for the audience as 54 women take the stage in red dresses vying for the title of Mrs. United States 2009!

After a full day of rehearsals, we were treated to an evening out at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace where we shopped, took an endless amount of photos, signed autographs, and tasted gelato (well, those of us who found the gelato had tastings...how could pass up gelato????...yum!):

Registration & Welcome Dinner

Well, we are all checked in, paired with roommates, and ready to start the adventure! During registration, all of the ladies mingled, took photos, and tried to meet as many delegates as possible. I met my roommate for the week, Mrs. New Hampshire, and settled into our room. First exciting item: a small window in the shower! I'm not sure why this amuses me so much, but, hey, it's Vegas!

After a little relaxation time, Irene (Mrs. NH United States) and I got dressed and headed downstairs where we joined the remaining 52 delegates for the Welcome Dinner. Here are a few photos from the welcome

Welcome to Vegas!

I've landed safely in Las Vegas and I'm ready for a wonderful week of pageantry and fun. Although the flight was a little bumpy, the crew members of our Southwest flight from New Orleans were fantastic! I flew with my competition dress as a carry-on and even joked at one point that I might buy a seat for it. As I boarded the plane, the crew asked about the large hanging bag, and when I explained that I was Mrs. LA United States heading to Las Vegas to compete for the national title, they were excited. What I didn't expect was that it would then be announced four hours later as we landed! They announced that Mrs. LA was on board and that they would like to wish her good luck in the Mrs. United States competition this week. It was too sweet!

With all of the excitement of finally being here at the national competition, sleep is the last thing on my mind. However, after a four hour flight with 116 lbs worth of luggage (thank you Jackson and everyone else along the journey who lifted my obnoxious suitcases for me!) it's time to get some rest. I will try my best to update my blog with info and photos during the week when I have a chance. Keep the good wishes and positive thoughts heading this way!

Wednesdays on the Point

While LSU was taking the lead against UT in the College World Series, I was enjoying the evening with the Kiwanis Club of Algiers - Morning Edition supporting the Algiers Economic Development Foundation as they kicked off another successful season of "Wednesdays on the Point."  This free concert series promotes historic Algiers Point located on the west bank of the Mississippi River in New Orleans.  Tonight, my fellow Kiwanians & I were treated to Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience while we raised money to support Kiwanis Helping Kids.  Join the Kiwanis and AEDF each Wednesday for a different free concert -- check the calendar at http://aedf.biz/wednesday-on-the-point/ for more information.

Even though I was a member of Key Club and Circle K, when I first joined Kiwanis, I could rarely remember how to spell the name of the organization.  A fellow member recently taught me how to remember it: Kiwanis Is Where A Need Is Served.  What an incredible organization that begins teaching children to give back to their communities in Builders Clubs and continues the development in high schools & colleges with Key Clubs and Circle K.  I am proud to be a Kiwanis International member, as well as to serve as the moderator of the Our Lady of Holy Cross College Circle K chapter.

And, of course, as an LSU alumna and former Miss LSU -- GO TIGERS!  

2009 College World Series Champions!

Miss, Teen, Mrs, & Ms Baton Rouge Pageants

   

(AK with Alex - Miss LA Gulf Coast, Brianna - LA Teen Gulf Coast, & Ashley - LA Teen Southeast after they judged the Baton Rouge children's pageant; AK with Jennifer Falgout Cortese, a fellow former LA Cattle Festival Queen & emcee for the pageant weekend)

   

(Lisa - Mrs. LA Gulf Coast, Ashley - LA Teen Southeast, Jennifer - Miss LA Southeast, Brianna - LA Teen Gulf Coast, & AK after the Miss, Teen, Mrs, & Ms Baton Rouge Pageants)

      

(AK with Miss LA 2009, Lacey Michew and Miss LA Teen USA 2009, Brittany Guidry)

(AK with the newly crowned Miss Baton Rouge, Merrill Bankston)

  (My knight in not so shining armor -- I couldn't resist!) 

Mrs. Louisiana America 2009

I was so excited to attend the 2009 Mrs. LA America pageant in Baton Rouge to cheer on several pageant friends who were competing.  Wow!  What a wonderful example of how incredible the married women of Louisiana truly are.  The competition was tough, and all of the ladies were absolutely beautiful!  At the end of the night, Jennifer McClain Armond captured the title.  Jennifer and I traveled together as festival queens (many years ago, but we won't say exactly how many!), and competed together in the LA USA pageant.  I am definitely looking forward to traveling together this year as we represent the extraordinary married women of Louisiana....good luck at Mrs. America!

      

(AK with Mrs. LA United States director, Nicky Lingo; Contestant line up during the evening gown competition)

      

(AK with newly crowned Mrs LA America, Jennifer Armond; AK and Mrs. LA US 2002, Charlene Bruce)