Tournoi Festival pageant canceled

The 2016 Tournoi Festival pageant has been canceled due to the recent flooding in the parish and across the southern portion of the state.
Rhonda Reed, Louisiana Tournoi Pageant director and Louisiana Tournoi Board of Director secretary said, “This is the 68th year of the pageant, and to my knowledge, this is the first time the pageant has ever been cancelled.
“The flood was an unprecedented event. Nothing like this has ever happened before. We were heartbroken over what to do. The board met (last) Sunday, and we thought it would be inappropriate, we felt, for our community and surrounding communities.”
The annual Running of the Tournoi is still on as scheduled, and the event will be held Sunday, Oct. 16 at the Industrial Park in Ville Platte.
Reed has been with the Louisiana Tournoi Association Board and the Tournoi pageant for about seven years.
The pageant was scheduled for September 17, and the event is held at the Civic Center. Contestants come from as far as Lake Charles and Kinder to participate in the pageant. Reed said there are normally three to six contestants in each category.
The reigning 2015 Miss Queen Bethany Thibodeaux and Junior Queen Meghan Miller, both of Eunice, have accepted the responsibility of serving and fulfilling the duties of the 2016 festival year.
“The ladies will relinquish their crowns at next year’s pageant in the fall of 2017, and for that, our association is truly grateful,” Reed said.
Thibodeaux is the daughter of Britt Thibodeaux and Bridgette Deville of Eunice, and Miller is the daughter of Lucus and Maddie Miller of Eunice.
“Canceling the 2016 Tournoi Pageant is unquestionably the most practical course of action as all of our focus needs to be on helping all of the great people of our state rebuild their lives,” Reed said. “So many people have lost their homes and have no place to go. Our primary concern is the well-being of those who are having to live through this tragic situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Reed added, “So many friends and families and people in our community are suffering.”