Royalty for a day… it has a nice ring to it! It was an incredible honor to be named Lady Pandora I for 2018, and I was sure to take full advantage of this great opportunity. On the contrary to the doom and gloom weather report, I knew when I woke up that it wouldn’t rain on our parade. Thankfully, I was (mostly) right!
Load in was when the excitement started to set in. Everything was starting to fall into place, and I wanted to fast forward straight to our ride. With our beads, boxes and boas in place, I parted ways with my float mates for official Lady Pandora duty at the luncheon. What a fantastic group of women we had in this year’s parade! I loved getting to know so many of them over a fantastic lunch (and a few cocktails to get the party started). After our formal toast, it was time to get to business.
I made my way to the hotel, where I started my hair and makeup. Note to future royalty, it takes a village and a whole lot of hairspray to get that crown to stay on our head for hours on end! Two hours and about 200 bobby pins later, it was time to finalize the finishing touches and head to the parade loading area.
Even though the clouds were looking a tad ominous, you would’ve never known it based on the party we pulled up on. There were bands, dance crews and parade goers movin’ and shakin’ everywhere! I immediately got out of the limo and danced my way through the crowd to my float. All of the ladies were dressed and ready to go– everyone looked fantastic and was so excited to get rolling. I have to admit, I was a little worried the weather scared people off, but that was not the case. From start to finish we had an amazing crowd!
I should note that Pandora has some of the best throws of any Mardi Gras krewe. A huge highlight for me was throwing some of our most prized possessions to smaller children and see their faces light up! I never knew a tutu could make someone so happy. Getting to the grandstands and seeing former Nyx royalty waiting to toast me was an experience I’ll never forget. They were so gracious, and having their support during Pandora meant the world to me.
After the parade, we made our way back to the hotel and attempted to get some sleep. I had such an amazing time that I feel like my adrenaline was sky high for days after the parade! This was an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world, and I’m so thankful for everyone who took the time to make it so special. Hail Pandora!
