Hidalgo bids farewell

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a farewell address by Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Queen Jeanne Marie Hidalgo. She will crown her successor Saturday at 7:30 p.m. during the 82nd Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Coronation and Ball in the Paul Schreier Theatre at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.)
My reign was filled with travels throughout our state while promoting our Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival — from the Rice Festival in Crowley, the Sugar Festival in New Iberia, the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge to the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival and The Orange Festival at Fort Jackson.
The memories I have are highlighted with contest wins for prettiest decorated shrimp boots at the Delcambre Shrimp Festival queen’s day events and the feather contest at the Gueydan Duck Festival, both highly coveted prizes! My festival travels are documented on the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Facebook page: www.facebook.com/shrimpandpetroleumfestival.
The Mystick Krewe of Louisianians Ball and the week I spent in Washington, D.C., without doubt was the grandest celebration of Louisiana tradition and culture I’ve attended. While there, visiting queens had special audiences at Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Museum of American History, the Veterans’ Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We held discussions with our senators and congressional delegates concerning economic issues facing our local region and our state.
I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to my community, my hometown of Morgan City, for giving me something so beautiful to represent this past year as queen. Representing the shrimp and the oil field industries has been fantastic.
As I traveled to so many different places and met so many different people, I was astounded by the number of times people eagerly wanted to share what they knew about our festival, raved about how much fun they had while here, or told of their excitement to visit our festival once again, or even for the first time. These were truly humbling experiences for me.
I owe thanks to the people who make our festival a wonderful experience for us and for those who visit. I truly had the best festival and the best community to represent this year. I’ll forever treasure my reigning year as 81st Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Queen — Jeanne Marie Hidalgo.