For some festival queens, wearing the crown is a rite of passage from one generation to the next. Such is the case for the outgoing Miss Boggy Bayou Festival Queen
“I plan to have a daughter who will follow in my footsteps and possibly become a future Boggy Bayou queen one day,” said Laken Grouvillia.
Outside of passing her Miss Boggy Bayou heels to her daughter, Grouvillia also plans on “graduating as a dental hygienist, getting married, and having a family of my own.”
She is the 22-year-old daughter of Sonia and Michael Grouvillia and the granddaughter of Linda and Allen Grouvillia, Sheila Prejean, and David Blood. Grouvillia graduated From Eunice High School and is a surgical assistant/ tech at Lafayette Oral Surgery.
Grouvillia has worn other festival queen crowns in the past, but her reign as Miss. Boggy Bayou is set apart from the rest of the field. As she said, “Nothing I mean nothing compares to this one! When I say you literally have a full force support team I mean it.”
“Boggy Bayou has always had a special place in my heart being raised in this area as a child and then moving not to far up the road,” she continued. “I believe my favorite thing about this title is how the community comes together for this festival to donate and provide for the nursing home. I know if I live old enough to be put in a nursing home I definitely want to come here!”
Also setting apart her reign as Miss. Boggy Bayou are Grouvillia’s highlight reels from wearing the crown. “I believe a highlight of my year would probably be the fact that I’ve become so obsessive with raccoons that I share every single Facebook raccoon post or even get excited to see one walking the streets,” she said.”
She continued, “A few highlights of my year outside of my visits with the nursing home would have to be attending the festival balls/coronations and being given the honor to wear that beautiful train and mantle. From picking strawberries in Ponchatoula, to skeet shooting in Gueydan, to kissing frogs in Rayne, to travelling three hours to Bogalusa to take a tour and learn the ins and outs of the international paper mill, this has definitely been an amazing year. And, I cannot forget about pickin’ good ole cotton in Ville Platte! I had a queen once tell me that friends don’t let other friends wear polyester.”
Grouvillia’s tenure as festival queen will provide her future daughter with volumes of knowledge on what it takes to be a good festival queen. As she explained, “I believe it takes compassion, dedication and being ambitious to make a great festival queen. Traveling and promoting your festival is very important because it is how other people attending these events become familiar to your festival. You are the festival’s public speaker and ambassador.”
Traveling is also the biggest piece of advice Grouvillia will give to her successor. She expressed, “Get invited to every event and attend it! You will meet so many new friends along the way and fall in love with so much food that you did not even know existed.”
Other items of advice to future Boggy Bayou Queens are “to collect every raccoon item as possible. I promise you’ll need it for decorating something. Who doesn’t love an adorable raccoon right?”
She concluded, “Most importantly please spend your off time at the nursing home! I can only hope you create a special bond! Take the time to learn the residents as family, listen to the stories. And, if you get the opportunity to learn about the artist behind the drawings, cherish it! Maybe one day he might draw you!”By: TONY MARKS
Associate Editor
For some festival queens, wearing the crown is a rite of passage from one generation to the next. Such is the case for the outgoing Miss Boggy Bayou Festival Queen
“I plan to have a daughter who will follow in my footsteps and possibly become a future Boggy Bayou queen one day,” said Laken Grouvillia.
Outside of passing her Miss Boggy Bayou heels to her daughter, Grouvillia also plans on “graduating as a dental hygienist, getting married, and having a family of my own.”
She is the 22-year-old daughter of Sonia and Michael Grouvillia and the granddaughter of Linda and Allen Grouvillia, Sheila Prejean, and David Blood. Grouvillia graduated From Eunice High School and is a surgical assistant/ tech at Lafayette Oral Surgery.
Grouvillia has worn other festival queen crowns in the past, but her reign as Miss. Boggy Bayou is set apart from the rest of the field. As she said, “Nothing I mean nothing compares to this one! When I say you literally have a full force support team I mean it.”
“Boggy Bayou has always had a special place in my heart being raised in this area as a child and then moving not to far up the road,” she continued. “I believe my favorite thing about this title is how the community comes together for this festival to donate and provide for the nursing home. I know if I live old enough to be put in a nursing home I definitely want to come here!”
Also setting apart her reign as Miss. Boggy Bayou are Grouvillia’s highlight reels from wearing the crown. “I believe a highlight of my year would probably be the fact that I’ve become so obsessive with raccoons that I share every single Facebook raccoon post or even get excited to see one walking the streets,” she said.”
She continued, “A few highlights of my year outside of my visits with the nursing home would have to be attending the festival balls/coronations and being given the honor to wear that beautiful train and mantle. From picking strawberries in Ponchatoula, to skeet shooting in Gueydan, to kissing frogs in Rayne, to travelling three hours to Bogalusa to take a tour and learn the ins and outs of the international paper mill, this has definitely been an amazing year. And, I cannot forget about pickin’ good ole cotton in Ville Platte! I had a queen once tell me that friends don’t let other friends wear polyester.”
Grouvillia’s tenure as festival queen will provide her future daughter with volumes of knowledge on what it takes to be a good festival queen. As she explained, “I believe it takes compassion, dedication and being ambitious to make a great festival queen. Traveling and promoting your festival is very important because it is how other people attending these events become familiar to your festival. You are the festival’s public speaker and ambassador.”
Traveling is also the biggest piece of advice Grouvillia will give to her successor. She expressed, “Get invited to every event and attend it! You will meet so many new friends along the way and fall in love with so much food that you did not even know existed.”
Other items of advice to future Boggy Bayou Queens are “to collect every raccoon item as possible. I promise you’ll need it for decorating something. Who doesn’t love an adorable raccoon right?”
She concluded, “Most importantly please spend your off time at the nursing home! I can only hope you create a special bond! Take the time to learn the residents as family, listen to the stories. And, if you get the opportunity to learn about the artist behind the drawings, cherish it! Maybe one day he might draw you!”