A royal banquet

Well, I spent the weekend making a round of galas, all starting Friday night at the Municipal Auditorium for the Holiday in Dixie Cotillion — presided over by King Mike Adams and Queen Mary Katherine Bicknell. It was followed Saturday by the Royal Reception at Club Newport in honor of Bicknell, Prince Robert Poindexter and Princess Catherine Sale at Shreveport Country Club. On Sunday, it was Horseshoe Casino & Hotel Riverdome for the Christus Schumpert Children’s Classic Gala Banquet & Auction. I had to regret the 2nd Medical Group 2007 Provider Reception at Barksdale Air Force Base, but more about that later.

At the Cotillion Royal Banquet, Robert Poindexter — dear old dad of Prince Robert — Kevin Briley and Andy Querbes strike a post for husband Paul L. Schuetze’s camera. (They were there with respective wives Kim Poindexter, Marjorie Briley and Mary Frances Querbes.)

Officials opened up one side of the tent adjacent to the Municipal Auditorium — where the Cotillion was held — and placed food and a bar out there, so it was like a grand lawn party. And the weather, exquisite, so people stayed on and on into the morning.

Upper Crust of Haynesville prepared the royal feast: savory shrimp presented on ice; steamship round of beef, carved; fillets of catfish, garnished; Pasta Newport with grilled chicken; Crepes Fitzgerald and Bananas Foster.

I love the way floral designer Kendall Bailey melds ordinary flowers along with more exotic ones. For the Cotillion and Royal Banquet he included mock orange, privet and ligustrum from his yard, as well as calla lilies, maidenhair fern, orchids and Ice Princess lilies. (There was even a ligustrum topiary.)

Want to hide a pot? Just swath it in elegant damask. Everyone will ooh and aah, I assure you.

Theme for the event: "A Royal Newport Cotillion In America’s Gilded Age."

More Cotillion notes: Pals Linda Biernacki and Donna Poimboeuf slipped in alone for hubbies Richard Biernacki and Cliff Poimboeuf were sharing an Indian Princess evening with their daughters ... Attorney Bill Hall, hubby of Cotillion chief Debbie Hall, shot photos from his bird’s-eye view seat in the Orchestra Circle ... Nephi Sanchez of the Shreveport Opera rendered a spellbinding song as the Cotillion presentation ended ... "Deepest Bow" honors go to Cotillion Lady Amanda Kemper Thomas ... Andy DuPont and Katie Dupont waltzed marvelously across the Cotillion floor as part of the presentation. (Chairwoman Hall would have loved to have had the floor completely filled with professional waltzers, but couldn’t quite manage that!)