A tradition of more than 70 years continues this Sunday at 1 p.m. as the Krewe of Des Allemands is ready to roll.
Between 30 and 40 units are expected this year, with the Hahnville High School Jr. ROTC leading the way.
The parade route begins on Whitley Road before traveling up to U.S. Highway 90, turning into the town’s business district, heading down Dejean Street toward Old Spanish Trail and then backing up Lorraine Drive to the highway.
The annual event brings the community together. And it was the community itself that refused to let it go: After the Lions Club stopped organizing the parade in 1994, residents got together and restarted the parade the next year.
“We’re excited for it every year. It’s definitely a town favorite … everyone looks forward to it,” said Mitzi Tregle Petit of the Des Allemands Carnival Krewe Committee.
Petit said this year’s parade will have a new wrinkle – float riders will have signature throws for this year’s parade in the form of wooden spoons with Krewe of Des Allemands engraved on them and a recipe card attached. The recipe is taken from the Catfish Festival cookbook – a means of honoring the longtime local festival that was discontinued following the closure of St. Gertrude Catholic Church.
“It’s a little way of keeping the memory of it alive, the good old days of the Catfish Festival,” Petit said. “We’re excited to have something new and different that celebrates something from our town’s past. Our Facebook has been blowing up and our committee members’ phones have been too, people want to catch the spoons.”
One constant throughout the event’s 70-plus years is that it’s truly a day for family.
“Generations of families have kept this going, and it makes it special for all of us,” Petit said. “And it’s all of our local community. Our King and Queen are from Paradis. Our Grand Marshals are from Des Allemands and Bayou Gauche. We incorporate everyone into our parade. It’s a family day and these days, you don’t always get to see that. Life is busy. This is one of those special days where everybody can get together and have a good time. Everybody along the road is having fun.”
Local school bands, dance teams and ROTC, fire trucks and more will be part of the parade march this year.
Alvin “Ko” Hebert and Nancy Bergeron Hebert of Paradis will reign as King and Queen. Trudy Babineaux Tastet of Bayou Gauche and Darlene Zeringue of Des Allemands will be the Krewe’s Grand Marshals.
“They are big parts of our community and well known for the things they do in our community,” said Petit. “That’s who we like to represent us, and we’re honored that they do represent us. And I think they feel honored as well, and that means so much to us.”
