Your Majesties

Continuing Louisiana Traditions with King and Queen Janus XXXVI, Sammy Tolar and Blanche Betz

article by Michael DeVault | Portrait by Andrew Bailey

For the almost 200,000 revelers who crowd along the parade route February 16th, the 36th Annual Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras Parade will be a fun, exciting night celebrating Louisiana’s rich cultural heritage. For Sammy Tolar and Blanche Betz, the minute the wheels begin to roll marks the pinnacle of more than a year’s worth of work, preparation, and effort.

Sammy and Blanche are also known as King and Queen Janus XXXVI, and they’ll reign over the parade from two of the highest vantage points available—the backs of the royal floats. It’s a spectacular moment that brings them at last before their “royal subjects” – the Mardi Gras revelers, and for Queen Janus XXXVI, it’s the highlight of her reign. Besides “looking fabulous,” as she quips, it’s a chance for her to push herself in a new direction.

“It’s a chance for me to get outside my comfort zone, dealing with different people and the exposure,” Blanche tells BayouLife. “I’m looking forward to it, which is crazy.”

Blanche is a recent addition to the Krewe of Janus, which was founded in 1984. She was friends and coworkers with another krewe member, Kevin Caston, and had been following his exploits.
“I was watching the parade and I saw Kevin’s picture on facebook,” she says. “I thought it looked like fun, so I decided I needed to do that.”

Joining the krewe took a little effort, though, and it took a bit of reconnoitering for her to finally figure out joining meant a visit to the Krewe Den on Louisville Avenue in Monroe. Once she was in, though, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the krewe.

“I developed some really good frienships that, otherwise, I wouldn’t have had,” she says. “I never would have met so many people if I hadn’t joined the krewe.”

This is somewhat surprising, given her outgoing nature. But it makes sense on some level because this year’s king and queen share a common character trait: they’re both more comfortable working behind the scenes and demure from too much attention. Sammy says he’s excited to get to know the people a little more, getting out in the community, and making the appearances he’s required to make as King Janus XXXVI. And Blanche agrees. They are, after all, the public face of Mardi Gras 36 in the Twin Cities.

What paradegoers experience as a single day of celebration—the pet parade, the children’s parade, and the “big show,” as they call it—is for the people in the float barn a year-round effort to deconstruct, repair, rebuild and create the massive creations that awe and inspire audiences each year. And that’s where Sammy has spent the majority of his time in the krewe.

He joined the Krewe of Janus in 2009, shortly after his wife Donna. He gives her 100 percent of the credit.“I joined the krewe because Donna joined the krewe,” he says. “Our children were grown, and we were looking for a change.”

Retired with two grown sons, a group like the Krewe of Janus provided the Tolars with a new outlet for their passions, and for Sammy it offered a place for him to branch out. It didn’t take too long for him to find his niche.

“My first year was just getting to know everybody and finding my place to fit in,” he says. “It wound up being in the back, working on floats. That’s what I enjoy doing.”

As Sammy explains, his favorite part of the krewe hasn’t been as regnant. It’s been “in the back,” working on floats is where he’s found his greatest comfort, and with good reason.
“It’s the group of people I work with,” he says of the float-builders. “The people back there make it fun and enjoyable. We’re always cooking and having a great time back there.”
This year, though, he’s King Janus XXXVI. Like Blanche, the king is looking forward to the attention parade night will bring, but for a slightly different reason.

“It’s going to be a good time,” he says. “Both of my grandsons are going to be on the float with me.”

The parade marks the second time Caiden, 11, will ride a float. For Sam, 12, it’ll be his first. Sammy is sure they’re going to make some great memories for themselves and for the thousands of revelers screaming “Throw me something, mister!”

For Blanche, the parade also marks a celebration of another passion of hers. She adores animals and lives with a menagerie of her own.

“I’m really looking forward to the pet parade,” says the queen, who is the proud owner of six dogs, five inside cats, and “I don’t know how many” outside cats. It seems her home has become a refuge for stray cats because, as she explains, “I refuse to let an animal go hungry.”

She calls herself a “foster fail,” and notes that on multiple occasions she’s agreed to foster animals only to never move them to another home. Instead, they find permanent residence at the queen’s palace, part of Blanche’s very own royal court.

It can make for a crowded environment for the CenturyLink IT Systems Analyst, but she is kind of used to a big family. She is one of eight children. Originally from Dallas, she moved to Monroe as a child to live with her grandparents. Surprisingly, shy Blanche is also quite talkative—a skill that will no doubt serve her well in the coming months.
“My mama used to say I’d talk to a stop sign and then throw rocks at it if it didn’t talk back,” she says. This personable quality makes her a worthy ambassador for an organization that is, at its heart, as much a service organization as it is a cultural one.

For much of their reign, King and Queen Janus XXXVI will visit nursing homes and schools, helping spread the joy of carnival to people who might otherwise be unable to attend the parade. These stops provide citizens their best up-close-and-personal interactions with their Mardi Gras king and queen.

For the rest of us, King and Queen Janus XXXVI will roll by, waving from a perch almost 25 feet in the air. Factor in the six feet of regalia that towers above them, the royal court, and the 199,999 other people cheering them on with you, and it’ll be a night you won’t want to miss.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!

THE 36TH ANNUAL KREWE OF JANUS MARDI GRAS PARADE
The route is set, volunteers are trained, and the beads have been hung on pegs. As artisans and crafters put the finishing touches on the floats, local law enforcement officials double-check security plans and more than 1,000 participants are gearing up to march, dance, or ride their way through throngs numbering in the tens of thousands.
It’s that time of year again, and the 36th Annual Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras Parade will roll through the Twin Cities February 16th, marking the biggest portion of the region’s celebration of time-honored carnival and capping a day of festivities that will include the Krewe of Paws Pet Parade, the Children’s Parade, and good ol’ fashioned Mardi Gras Ball for them lucky enough to attend.

Celebrations span the community, stretching from Pecanland Mall to New Natchitoches Street in West Monroe and featuring a cross-section of participants and revelers from literally every walk of life in the region. One thing is certain: if you miss Mardi Gras this year, you’re missing out on something special.
Saturday’s festivities begin with the Krewe of Janus Children’s Parade at Pecanland Mall. Held at the Carousel at Center Court, the children’s parade invites children and parents to dress up and show off their Mardi Gras spirit. Generous sponsorships from Pecanland Mall, the Radio People, Macaroni Kid, and Centric Credit Union help the Krewe provide the parade as a free-to-participate event.

Later that morning comes the Krewe of Paws Pet Parade on Commerce Street in West Monroe. The area’s poochiest pooches and cattiest kitties will take to the street at 11 a.m., and in 13 years, the Pet Parade has developed a devoted following of its own. So you’ll want to arrive early and camp out for the perfect spot.
Finally, that night comes the big show.

After a day of tailgating in parking lots and front yards from New Natchitoches to Oliver Road, after we’ve had our crawfish and barbeque, and after more than a few hotdogs, the lights flicker on, the engines roar, and the 36th Annual Krewe of Janus Parade rolls through town.

This year’s route starts at New Natchitoches near the I-20 overpass in West Monroe, rolls down Trenton Street in West Monroe before crossing the Louisville Bridge. After a brief trip up Walnut Street, the parade proceeds through downtown Monroe on Desiard Street for two blocks, turning onto 3rd Street for the return to Louisville, where it will continue until it concludes at Oliver Road.

Organizers anticipate crowds in excess of 175,000 people, so you’ll want to get there early to scope out that perfect spot from which to catch all the beads, doubloons, and other parade trinkets you can catch.

For more information about the 36th Annual Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras Parade, visit their web site at kreweofjanus.com.