The celebration of Mardi Gras
in Minden first began in 1900 and continued into the 1920's. Then
in 1998 the Minden Main Street Program, under the direction of Judy
Talley, put on their first Mardi Gras Parade. This family oriented
parade has grown from a small children’s event to a parade that
includes 45 entries with floats from all over the Ark-La-Tex. Parade
spectators average around 5,000 adults and children for this fun
family evening. In 2001, Mardi Gras in Minden went to the next
level. It was September 2001 and another monthly meeting of
the Minden-South Webster Chamber Ambassador Committee. Someone
threw out the idea of having a Mardi Gras party the first of the
year and the energy flowed from there. Committee members took the
idea and explored the possibilities.
Members of
established area Krewes gave invaluable suggestions and helpful
hints to the Minden Ambassadeurs. The Minden Committee began their
search for a name and after some discussion, it was decided they
would call themselves the Krewe des Ambassadeurs as they reflected
on their Chamber Ambassador service to the community.
The Ambassadeurs' Royal Line-up includes:
Under the direction of their first Captain, Terry Gardner, the Krewe
hosted the first Bal’ at Bayou Inn in Minden with a theme of Mardi
Gras on the Bayou. They built their first float, placing first in
the Springhill Mardi Gras Parade. The newly formed Krewe worked
hard, had fun and brought the celebration of Mardi Gras in Minden to
a new level.
During the second year of the Krewe, they hosted their first annual
Cochon de Lait at Lake Bistineau, hosted their first Coronation Gala
at Pine Hills Country Club in Minden and added a Prince and Princess
to their royalty. Minden Medical Center was named the title
Sponsor. They spent many hours building a 40' X 12' float, moved to
a permanent Krewe Den at the Northwest Commerce Center, and hosted
the second Grand Bal’ at LA Downs. The Krewe participated in four
area parades, Minden, Springhill, Gemini and Highland. A Queens Tea was hosted by Queen I, Johnnye Kennon. Their float won
first place in the Minden Main Street Parade.
The third season kicked off with the second Cochon de Lait, new
designs for the float and a additional set of Royals, the Duke and
Duchess of Philanthropy. Under the direction of their new Captain,
Mahala Hutto, the Krewe had a fun filled third season. Lake
Bistineau State Park was again the site of the annual Cochon de Lait.
The Coronation Gala was held at Pine Hills Country Club and Grand
Bal’ III took place at Stars in Bossier City. They again won first
place for their float in the Minden Main Street Parade.
Season four began with the Krewe reducing Royalty back to the
original number. With the theme of “Hollywood Legends”, the Krewe
had a great year. All events were bigger and better than ever. The
third annual Cochon de Lait was hosted at Shady Point on Lake
Bistineau. Then Krewe members outdid themselves at The Captain’s
Party, a great Halloween Costume Party. The Grand Bal’ IV, held at
the Isle of Capri Ballroom, was a magical evening that no one
wanted to end. They finished the fourth season participating in
three parades that had their largest attendance to date, Minden,
Gemini and Highland.
The fifth season began with a new Captain at the helm, Dr.
Mervin Ardoin. A Gumbo Fundraiser was the first event of
the season and the United Christian Home was adopted as
their charity. In late May, the Krewe purchased 3 acres of
land to build a Den. The Cochon de Lait was again held at
Shady Point on Bistineau and was great fun! “Krewesin’
Mardi Gras Style” was the theme for the Season, where we
Krewesed into the Coronation at Pine Hills and the Grand
Bal’ V at the Isle of Capri
Our Captain for season six was Vickie Cullen. The Krewe
began discussing plans for our new Den. The annual Cochan
de Lait took place at Lake Bistineau, the Coronation at Pine
Hills Country Club. This seasons theme was “The Carnival of
Venice” and the first masked Grand Bal’ was great success.
Six area Mardi Gras parades had Krewe members and Royalty
participating, Sobek, Springhill, Minden, Gemini, Highland
and Aesclepius. The season ended with the Royals toasting
on the Texas Street Bridge at midnight on Fat Tuesday.
Captain Ralph Greer led the Krewe through the seventh
season. This year the Krewe saw another first in their
event schedule – First Annual Golf Tournament which
was held at The Grove Golf Course in conjunction with the
Cochon de Lait. The Krewe also purchased a trailer and
built the “Children’s” float. The children and grandchildren
of Krewe members ride this float at the Minden and Highland
Parade. Our Royalty & Krewe Members use this float at the
Springhill, Sobek and Minden Christmas Parade. The
Coronation was at Pine Hills Country Club and the Grand Bal’
VII was held at Diamond Jack’s in Bossier City.
Margaritaville was the theme for the Captain’s Party that
was held at Lake Bistineau.
Captain Beverly Brown guided us through season eight. Our
theme for this year was “The Krewe that never sleeps”. The Cochon de Lait and Second Annual Golf Tournament was held at
The Grove Golf Course again. The Krewes by-laws were
revised and added two new members to the board, Publicity
Chair and Fundraising Chair. A fundraising raffle was added
in the spring and the silent auction was expanded at the
Coronation that was at Woods Convention Hall. We broke
ground on our new Den building and increased our
aid to the families at the United Christian Shelter. The
Grand Bal’ VIII was held at Diamond Jack’s. We participated
in seven area parades - Minden Christmas Parade, Sobek,
Springhill, Minden, Gemini, Highland and Aesclepius. The
year ended with everyone having a great time at the
Captain’s Party that was held at the “Boom Boom Room” in
Walkerville, Arkansas.
Mahala Hutto was back as Captain for the ninth season. Work
began early on completion of a permanent Jester Head on the
large float. In the spring, a contract was signed to build
the new Krewe Den on Ryan’s Way in Minden. The Third Annual
Golf Tournament and Cochon de Lait were again at The Grove,
a great time was had by all. Through the summer Krewe
members worked on the new Den. Finishing in October, an open house was hosted on the 24th, with 100 attendees.
Season Nine’s Theme was “The Wonderful World of Ambassadeurs”
and the Coronation and Grand Bal’ committees did spectacular
jobs with the decorations. The Royals costumes, themed from
Disney movies, and the Disney Storybook on the stage were
awesome!
