All hail Rex, King of Carnival 2020, Mr. Joseph Storey Charbonnet.
King Charbonnet comes from a long lineage of Rex Royalty, but he says announcement day still came as a surprise to him. “I don’t view it lightly. I view it as an opportunity to speak to our city, to speak to our politicians and thank them for all of their hard work that they are doing, but to remind them that we have a lot more work left to do,” said King Charbonnet.
With a new title in hand, the King of Carnival is planning to use this platform to continue his philanthropic efforts in the New Orleans School Systems. His favorite past times are spending the weekends on the water, and week nights at the baseball fields. And now that we have our King of Carnival, it’s time to let the good times roll.
Royally fit to be queen. Sarah Eleanor Lane is keeping her family legacy going as this years’ Queen of Carnival 2020.
“My great grandfather was king in 1958 and his daughter was queen and three of his great granddaughters were queen,” said Lane. She continued, “my sophomore year, my parents came to Charolettesville and my dad passed me his computer that had a Powerpoint presentation on it of family history and Mardi Gras history. I was so confused and not catching on at all. But the last slide said, “Sarah you are going to be the next Queen of Carnival. I was so surprised and excited, but humbled.”
Tied together with special connection, the King and Queen of Carnival have a unique bond. Lane explained, “he went to the University of Virginia, and I currently go to the University of Virginia. So he had an idea of adding a UVA twist on the pin which is really special and I’m really happy that we have that connection.