Willie Badeaux, who was born and raised in Bayou Gauche, was glad the Des Allemands Carnival Parade Committee asked him to be the 2025 Grand Marshal.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Badeaux said. “I want to do it.”
Badeaux worked as a carpenter until his retirement about 15 years ago. He also trapped and fished for most of his life, and he is known in Bayou Gauche for his carvings of duck decoys. He has a special throw planned for the parade that will roll on Sunday, March 2.
“I’m going to be throwing some little ducks this year,” he said. “Not just beads. My daughter found some little ducks online.”
The parade will be a family affair. Badeaux’s granddaughter will ride on the float with him, and his daughter and her boyfriend will tow the float. Badeaux has three children and five grandchildren, and he said the family will watch the parade.
“The whole family will be involved in it,” he said.
Badeaux said he has not been involved with the parade before, but he has enjoyed watching the parade every year. He said the damage that Hurricane Ida caused to Bayou Gauche was heartbreaking.
“Everything you knew and everybody you knew, they’re all gone,” he said. “I hate to see what’s going on.”
But said he thinks the parade will get a lot of people out to celebrate.
“Everybody I’ve talked to said they’re coming,” he said.
