The Krewe of Proteus celebrated their 143rd anniversary, the oldest nighttime parading krewe in New Orleans, offering a glimpse into the fabled pageantry of the Golden Age of Carnival.
The 11th captain and his many-hued lieutenants escorted the music-filled mystic krewe into another magical Lundi Gras night. The wagons that carry this parade date back to the 19th century: the era of flambeau-illuminated spectacles drawn by mules through the cobblestone streets of New Orleans. These aged carriages made their journey once more featuring the parade's theme, "Tableaux Roulants."
Since man first took to the seas, there have been outlaws, using the wildness of the open waters to live life by their own rules. With the theme this year, "Seafaring Scoundrels," Proteus sought to share the lives and lore of these maritime adventurers, filled with battles, ghosts, and innumerable dangers of the deep.
Reigning over the evenings' festivities as queen was Miss Marianne Pratt Villere, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. St. Denis Julien Villere III.
Maids to her majesty included Misses Teresa Mallard Brewer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Craig Wren Brewer; Annabelle Baldwin Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Baldwin Brown; Abigail Hartsfield Chaffe, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Blackshear Hamilton Chaffe IV; Elizabeth Shaw Feirn, daughter and stepdaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Charles Feirn and daughter of Ms. Amy Shaw Feirn; Sarah Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Christopher Fitzpatrick; Celia Louise Funderburk, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joel Malone Funderburk; Celia Shane Hardin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery Simms Hardin; Mallette Amie Havens, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Prentiss Havens; Mary Grace Jenkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Scott Jenkins; and May Heidingsfelder Manning, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Archibald Manning.
Also in the court were Misses Morgan Elizabeth Nalty, daughter of Mr. Morgan Shaw Nalty and Ms. Jill Knight Nalty; Charlotte Heyward Parrino, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Eugene Parrino; Tatum Lady Reiss, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Joseph Reiss III; Elizabeth Talbot Rogers, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Ted Rogers III; Ella Smith Schneidau, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marc Hall Schneidau; Eugenie Gardiner Selser, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Michael Selser; Emma Royals Singley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Shannon Singley; Sarah Butler Sumrall, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William David Sumrall III; and Patricia Diane Taylor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Frank Taylor III.
Pages were Masters Ryland Poynter Schwing, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Holmes Schwing; and Meyer Henry Thompson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Todd Carrere Thompson.
After the queen and court were presented, Proteus could be seen in his misty, undersea world. Assuming mortal form, he stood in front of a giant pink seashell surrounded by fishnet, treasure chests, giant sea horses, fish of every description and a hippocampus flanking him on either side. These half-horse and half-fish creatures have become the royal scribes. As the orchestra played "Over the Waves," Proteus greeted his subjects as the waves splashed, the vortex of a giant whirlpool loomed increasingly larger and all the creatures of the sea swam happily about. Following the undersea tableau, the curtain parted to reveal the monarch, captain, lieutenants, pages and characters from the tableau.
The captain then escorted the queen around the ballroom and presented her. The maids were then presented to their majesties.
The captain also presented Mrs. Robert Joseph Strumm Jr., who as Anne Kathleen Carriere, reigned as queen in 1975.
The monarchs then led a grand march of the court around the ballroom.
The general chairman of the ball was Mr. Gary Hyder Brewster. Assisting as vice-chairmen were Messrs. William Ryan Acomb, Horace Mark Adams, Walter Francis Becker Jr., Alfred Whitney Brown III, John Menge Eastman, Michael Kevin Fitzpatrick, Louis McDaniel Freeman Jr., James Favrot Geary, Stacey Wayne Goff, William Joseph Goliwas Jr., William Hugh Hines, Michael Wilkins Kearney, Devereux Parker Moring Jr., Blair Francis Scanlon Jr., William Lomax Treadway III, Robert James Whann IV and Drs. Harry Simms Hardin IV and Charles Emile Heidingsfelder.