Sarah Owens, the 21 year old daughter of Marty and Janet Owens of Luling was crowned Louisiana Queen Sugar 65 on Sat., Sept. 23, at the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival Pageant in New Iberia. Owens, a junior at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, majoring in Human Resource Management, won the opportunity to compete after being named first runner up in the St. Charles Parish Festival pageant on Aug. 5.
Sarah impressed the judges with her vast knowledge of the sugar cane industry combined with her sweet personality. To prepare for the pageant, she studied the history of sugar cane and visited many sugar refineries to learn about the industry. “When I explained why I wanted to tour the refineries and mills, everyone was so eager to help. The information was very helpful and proved to be an advantage in my interview. Being crowned Queen Sugar is such a sweet reward for my hard work,” said Owens.
Sarah’s year will be a fun-filled, exciting one as she will be a very busy young lady. Queen Sugar LXV will spend the next year promoting the sugar industry as an ambassador for the 24 sugar producing parishes. She will travel to the many fairs and festivals held across the state. She will also attend the Washington D.C. Mardi Gras Ball in 2007. Her duties started immediately. A Coronation Ball was held in her honor after the crowning. On Sunday morning, Sarah and visiting royalty celebrated the blessing of the Harvest mass. In the afternoon, she and King Sucrose 65, Calvin Viator toasted the town as the royalty paraded down Main Street.
St. Charles Parish Festival Director, Mrs. Doreen Becnel Landry stated, “St. Charles Parish Festival is extremely excited, honored, and elated to have yet another Louisiana Queen Sugar. Sarah will make a great representative for the sugar industry and will make the people of St. Charles Parish very proud.”
The Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival is held yearly in New Iberia on the last full weekend of September. Young ladies, ages 18 to 22, are chosen from their respective sugar producing parish to compete in the pageant and vie for the title of Queen Sugar.
St. Charles Parish has recorded two other wins in the festival’s 65 year history. The first being Sandra LeBlanc Ryan of Norco in 1968 and the second in 2004 as Ashlyn Falgout, a resident of Destrehan was crowned Queen Sugar 63.
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