Fraying Ties: Louisiana's Shrimp and Petroleum Festival at 89
- Ned Randolph
- Jun 6
- 1 min read
Under a gray morning sky, two shrimp boats maneuvered toward one another. On their respective bows, the festival king and queen tried to steady themselves, each extending a champagne glass toward the other in a toast. The procession between two bridges on the Atchafalaya River marked the eighty-eighth “blessing of the fleet,” a ritual of strained choreography in Morgan City, Louisiana, at the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival....