Sydney Bertrand reacts to being crowned Cattle Festival Queen in March.
Caroline Hardy, the Rice Festival Queen, poses in downtown Crowley with her crown.
The Rice Festival Queen's crown is an example of Louisiana's many festival pageant crowns. The pageant recently changed the style of its crown. Previously, the crown featured rhinestoned rice stalks.
Sydney Bertrand was crowned Cattle Festival queen March 5, 2022. She is pictured here showing off her crown. The Cattle Festival is in Abbeville.
Sydney Bertrand was crowned Queen of the Cattle Festival. She is the 72nd Cattle Festival Queen.
Hallie Kent is the reigning Oyster Festival Queen. The Oyster Festival takes place in Amite.
Caroline Hardy is the reigning queen of the Crowley International Rice Festival. She is the 84th queen of the festival.
Sydney Bertrand reacts to being crowned Cattle Festival Queen in March.
The Rice Festival Queen's crown is an example of Louisiana's many festival pageant crowns. The pageant recently changed the style of its crown. Previously, the crown featured rhinestoned rice stalks.
Whether she learns how to shuck an oyster, bag and boil crawfish, fix a mean pot of rice, milk a cow, hold an alligator or when to pick a strawberry, a Louisiana festival queen acquires unique skills, experiences and opportunities through her unconventional position.
Caroline Hardy, the Rice Festival Queen, poses in downtown Crowley with her crown.
Being a festival queen isn’t the typical 9-to-5-job, but those who have worn the array of Louisiana's festival crowns say the positions afford the best seat in the house to interact with the state's different cultures, traditions and foods.
Louisiana is home to more than 100 queens who earn their crowns in festivals around the state that honor a variety of crops and commodities.
Speaking of crowns, in Louisiana, a shiny, jeweled crown is often the mark of a festival queen rather than a beauty queen — and said crown may be a jeweled crawfish, gumbo pot, strawberry, cow or combination of shrimp and petroleum.
Most of the agricultural queens and queen-wannabes have watched and waited to compete in these pageants since they were toddlers and are fiercely passionate about the commodity their hometown festival touts. Finally, pageants are happening again as many have waited at least two years to compete. For some, the competition bears more weight than normal this season.
Sydney Bertrand was crowned Cattle Festival queen March 5, 2022. She is pictured here showing off her crown. The Cattle Festival is in Abbeville.
“With the comeback, the girls competing had double the time to allow their passions to grow for their favorite festival, which made everyone want it more,” said Caroline Hardy, the 84th International Rice Festival queen. “I really think that the girls who had to wait, including myself, wanted to be a part of the comeback of those festivals.”
Hardy explained that part of her job as queen is to travel the state and advocate for the rice industry, one that her grandpa was a part of for 50 years. Hardy said she is the spokeswoman every day, whether she’s wearing the crown or not.
Despite the great responsibility, she feels lucky to represent “such a vital commodity.”
Hallie Kent is the reigning Oyster Festival Queen. The Oyster Festival takes place in Amite.
“I’ve been able to go crawfishing, pick Louisiana strawberries, oranges and cotton, hold an alligator, milk a cow, and learn so much about all the diverse cultures that Louisiana is home to,” Hardy said regarding her tenure as International Rice Festival queen.
Becky Smith, the pageant director of the Amite Oyster Festival, thinks that festival queens get a “front-row seat” to Louisiana’s best. Smith said she doesn’t believe the pressure is higher this year for the pageant, only that people were excited to participate after a three-year hiatus.
However, this pageant pause is what motivated some women to compete.
Sydney Bertrand was crowned Queen of the Cattle Festival. She is the 72nd Cattle Festival Queen.
Sydney Bertrand, The 72nd Cattle Festival queen, said the future of festivals was unknown after the pandemic forced most festival boards to postpone their celebrations.
“Festivals in Louisiana took a big hit. So this year, festivals need as much help as possible to get back up and running,” Bertrand said. “These circumstances add a huge amount of pressure when competing because so many beautiful women are willing and ready to get the job done just as much as you are.”
Bertrand knows that the crown represents the hard work and history of the Cattle Festival. She also feels the importance of passing down festival traditions to younger generations.
Caroline Hardy is the reigning queen of the Crowley International Rice Festival. She is the 84th queen of the festival.
“Being a festival queen is so much more than people think. It is an eye-opening experience to promote the industry and/or organization that you represent,” Bertrand said.
Victoria Bourque, the Cattle Festival secretary and pageant co-director, said the ultimate goal of the position is to increase festival attendance and awareness of the commodity. Along with the required duties, the festival queen is held to high standards.
“All Louisiana Cattle Festival royalty are expected to be kind and respectful, courteous and presentable, attentive to inclusion and approachable to all ages,” Bourque said. “Above all else, we expect our royalty to enjoy the irreplaceable experience of seeing Louisiana through the eyes of a festival queen.”
There are obvious perks, Bourque said, such as free festival attendance and acknowledgment from residents and festival-goers — the crown is shiny for a reason, after all.
However, Bourque says that the “indirect skills gained while being a festival queen reign supreme.”
In 2013, Bourque reigned as the 65th Cattle Festival queen. She said the communication and self-presentation skills she learned as queen are “long-standing attributes” that carried over into her professional career.
Festival queens are celebrated statewide, as they are tasked with educating residents on Louisiana’s top commodities. The job means more to them than a jeweled crown.
“I find that people who only see festival queens in passing may think of us as ‘beauty queens’ who prance around a stage in pretty dresses and wear a sparkly crown,” Hardy said. “But it is truly so much more.”
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