NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – This year’s Queen of Carnival is a world-traveler who will no doubt carry on REX’s rich history with grace, prestige, honor, and beauty. News with a Twist reporter Kenny Lopez introduces us to this year’s Queen of Carnival, Adelaide Debezies Goodyear, as she gets ready for Carnival.
Adelaide Goodyear is getting ready to wear the jewels, crown, and internationally-inspired gown for all the Rex Carnival festivities.
“I found out I was going to be Queen at Antoine’s Restaurant. My parents took me to the REX room and then they took me to the Mystery room, and they read a scroll to me. I was shocked,” she said.
She left New Orleans at age 4, and moved with her family all around the world to Shanghai, China; London, England; and Melbourne, Australia. Miss Goodyear is fluent in both English and Mandarin. She currently attends Yale University where she is majoring in Geology. Another major interest of hers is art. She is an art gallery tour guide at Yale.
Goodyear hopes to bring her worldly experience to Carnival.
“Coming from the outside, everything is so new when I experience it here. I love how at the parades you have grandparents, parents, teens, and kids all enjoying the parades together. You don’t get to see that anywhere else.”
Her love for Mardi Gras is something she wants the whole world to know.
It will be a busy next few days for Queen Adelaide, so we’ll let her get back to practicing her royal duties, like waving her scepter.
“I’ve been practicing in my house with a soup spoon,” she said.
Here’s an interesting tidbit of family history that she told us.
A great uncle of hers created “Goodyear rubber”, which was used on tires. He didn’t get it patented, so he ended up selling the “Goodyear” name.
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Rex is known for their charitable contributions and their Pro Bono Publico Foundation, which is a leader in revolutionizing education in the city.