St. Mary Parish’s oldest & most prestigious carnival organization

Mr. Joe Sanford & Miss Natalie Bourgeois, King & Queen LXIV

About Us

tradition

Hephaestus has a rich heritage, dating from 1914, of outstanding royalty, innovative themes and gorgeous court and ball presentations. Traditional Mardi Gras day parade route is shown to the right, starting at 2:00 pm.

History

Mardi Gras began in Morgan City in 1914 with the first king and queen being Joseph Dyer and Mrs. Leta Prohaska Miller. For many years there was no formal celebration, and in 1927, more formal celebrations began again, with sponsorship of the Morgan City Parent-Teacher organization using the name Cervus. In 1961 the Ladies’ Fire Auxiliary instituted their own krewe with a court and ball, under the name Krewe, Hephaestus, the god of fire and metal working. For six years, there were two kings and two queens with each group having their own court and ball, until 1966 when the groups merged. When they asked Lee Vaccari to serve as king in 1969, he decided that the Krewe of Hephaestus should be a formal organization with a membership and a kings’ club and queens’ club. He reinstituted Mardi Gras parades and included all former kings and queens as part of the history and membership of Hephaestus. The Krewe celebrates its anniversary date as 1961 when the Ladies began Hephaestus. This year we are celebrating our 62nd year. Kings and Queens are known by their anniversary date. King and Queen Hephaestus LIXII (62) will reign this year.

Membership

A few of the many advantages of Hephaestus membership are:

Hephaestus is for both spouses, or for singles and his or her guest.

Hephaestus is the carnival organization in our area having its ball the Saturday evening before, and its parade on, Mardi Gras.

Hephaestus has an ownership interest in its floats, and its Mardi Gras parades are outstanding and fun for all who participate.

Hephaestus membership dues are very reasonable and entitle its members to exciting annual functions including the ball, before-and-after parade parties, parade riding and other Krewe events.

LXIV

2024 Court and Ball

Joe Sanford Jr. and Natalie Bourgeois reigned as King and Queen Hephaestus LXIV at the krewe's annual Mardi Gras ball on Saturday at the Morgan City Auditorium.

The queen is the daughter of Gerard and Ruth Bourgeois.

The ball theme was "The Spectrum of Art and Emotion." Kenneth Conrad, the 2024 captain of the krewe, depicted the Great Artist.

The dukes and maids, representing various colors and works of art, were purple and “The Lilac Rises,” Ryan Landry and Madison Landry, daughter of Ryan and Stacey Landry; red and "The Dessert-Harmony in Red," Steven Clements and Madison Porth, daughter of Charles Porth and Michelle LeBlanc; orange and "Willows at Sunset," Kawaki Kai and Mary Grace Garber, daughter of Scot Garber and Deborah Garber; gold and "The Kiss," Scott Berry and Peyton Skiles, daughter of Patrick and Emily Skiles; blue and "Starry Night," Terry Aucoin and Grace Marcel, daughter of Robert and Mary Marcel; green and "After the Ball," Dr. Bill Cefalu and Emily Wise, daughter of Michael and Jennifer Wise.

Pages to the king were Archer Bergeron, son of Paul and Emily Bergeron; and River Leonard, son of Devin and Elizabeth Leonard.

Pages to the queen were Gianna Morice, daughter of Dr. Trey Morice and Jennifer Morice; and Hazel Daigle, daughter of Dane Daigle and Sissy Daigle.

Amelie Cefalu, daughter of Drs. Bill and Abby Cefalu; and Sawyer Hebert, daughter of Carl and Dru Hebert, were gift bearers.

Court heralds were Joseph Drewe Mallinckrodt II, son of Joseph and Rachael Mallinckrodt; Guy Written, son of Kody and Lauren Written; and Raymond “Tre” Wade III, son of Raymond “Peetey” II and Heather Wade.

Knights of Hephaestus were Dwayne Aucoin, Gary Hover, John B. Hover and Garret LeBlanc.

A royal breakfast was served to guests after the ball.

Krewe of Hephaestus