1A7-AQueen Sugar XXV Mary Kendall Mhoon King Sucrose Andrew Gay.jpg

1.  The Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival was once always held on the last weekend of September, even if it included October.  I was crowned Queen Sugar XXV on Saturday, October 1, 1966.
2. Parish Queens never wore crowns during the Festival.  Hats and gloves were important accessories for the interview. Long white gloves were worn for the coronation, Queen’s Parade and all formal events. 
3. The Sugar Cane Festival was asked to send Queen Sugar to participate in the Miss America pageant.  They refused because they would not allow Queen Sugar to appear in a swimsuit.
4. Parish Queens, their maids, and Visiting Queens stayed at the Hotel Frederick on Main Street in New Iberia.  On Saturday evening before the Coronation, barricades were put up outside the front entrance of the hotel to facilitate an annual and eagerly awaited spectacle.  Very much like Hollywood premieres, crowds of curious visitors gathered to watch and photograph the girls as they were formally announced before boarding their buses to the Coronation. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the glamour!  Flashbulbs popped from all angles!  This was New Iberia’s Hollywood!
5. The Sugar Festival hosted an annual two-day Good Will Tour throughout different parts of the state, which included about 150-200 people traveling in buses for a jam-packed schedule of planned stops and events, ending with dinner and dancing in the evening.  The new King Sucrose was introduced at one of the stops, and he and his wife then joined the travelers.  Queen Sugar, Miss Iberia Parish and the Sugar Lumps were always important participants and were presented with keys to each city along the tour.  Buses left the Festival Building at 7:30 a.m. and returned the next night at 9:30 p.m.