Demi Patin ending reign as 2024 Crawfish Queen
Demi Patin is the 20 year old daughter of Dana and Lori Patin of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. She will be a senior in the fall at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette majoring in Architecture. She is also a member of the Gamma Kappa chapter of Kappa Delta at ULL.
For the past year, Demi has traveled the state of Louisiana representing the world famous Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival as their 2024 Crawfish Queen.
For as long as she can remember, being a Crawfish queen was her lifelong dream. She has attended the festival since she was a toddler, and always knew one day she would conquer her aspiration of representing it. On March 23rd 2024, her dream came true as she was crowned the 2024 Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Queen.
In her own words, Demi shares her experiences as the 2024 Crawfish Queen: ”It was always my biggest dream to be a Crawfish Queen because I wanted to represent the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival and the crawfish industry, which hold so many memories for me, and for a long time I thought it was the only festival that existed. I was raised in Breaux Bridge my whole life, and was immersed in the culture since I was little. I was in the French immersion program for 8 years, and always had a love for promoting Cajun culture, which is what our festival is all about. In 2022 I was crowned Miss Breaux Bridge, which was the first part of this dream, and in 2024 I completed it when crowned Crawfish Queen. This year I was able to reign over the 2024 Crawfish festival, which was the highlight of my year. I have never missed a year in attendance, but attending as the queen is a memory I’ll never forget. I introduced some of the largest Cajun and zydeco artists, participated in a crawfish eating contest, raced crawfish, and most importantly, made memories with my Junior Royalty, Lola, Addison, and Shelton.” ”I have a huge family, and they were all there to support me each day at the festival. It’s something I’ll never forget, and I know I made them proud. Especially my parents, who have been the best parents in the world to me. They made my festival weekend perfect. I never wanted it to end, and tears rolled down my face the moment those fence doors closed on Sunday evening” Other than the Crawfish festival, Demi has traveled to over 100 events across the state and to our nation’s capital for the Washington D.C. 76th Mystic Krewe of Louisianians Mardi Gras Ball. ”My biggest mission this year was to travel as much as possible and invite everyone I met to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish festival. I traveled just shy of 12,000 miles to do just that. I have a huge passion for art, and a huge passion for crawfish, so this year I combined the two. Everywhere I traveled I would bring a painting that showcased what our festival and industry was all about. It was a specific legacy I wanted to leave on my year as queen.” ”Some of my biggest highlights as queen- I picked the sweetest strawberries in Ponchatoula, milked cows in Abbeville, ate sweet sugarcane stalks in New Iberia, watched the fireworks in Erath, ate all the boudin links in Scott, picked the yummiest oranges in Plaquemines Parish, skinned nutria rats in Cameron, ate a big bowl of jambalaya in Gonzales, milled rice in Crowley, shot skeet in Gueydan, put down multiple pounds of shrimp in Delcambre and Morgan City, spent a whole week at Farm Bureau Convention, made red bean gumbo in Lutcher, rode in the Krewe of Bacchus parade in New Orleans, and last but not least, attended Washington D.C. Mardi Gras.”
”Locally in Breaux Bridge I attended multiple events at Tunes on the Teche, ate rice and gravy at the Breaux Bridge Kiwanis club cookoff, introduced bands at the Krewe de Pont Car show, gave out candy to trick or treaters, rode in the Christmas parade, played bingo at the Teche Center of the Arts, toured a peeling plant, went to zydeco breakfast, and one of my most precious moments, assisted in the painting of the Birthday Wall in Breaux Bridge.”
”It was never easy, but the best things in life never are. Although this title comes with responsibility, it also comes with so many great experiences. I have met the best of friends, and made lifelong bonds with their families. I have been fortunate to travel with other queens who are just as passionate about their festivals as I.”
”The last thing I’ll say is: I never thought I could love my home more than I did before this crown was placed on my head, but I was wrong. The pride I feel, and the love I have for Breaux Bridge will never end but only grow. The people, the culture, and the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival - there’s no better place to be.”
On Saturday April 12th, Demi will relinquish her crown and recite the following speech for the last time: Seated in the heart of Louisiana’s soil, is a place that pays homage to my first true love, Crawfish. And every first full weekend in May, my hometown kicks off the world famous celebration that started in 1959, all for our favorite red crustacean. I invite you to experience all things Cajun at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, where we commend the hard working fishermen for putting food on our tables, zydeco dance to endless swamp pop music across three stages, and devour crawfish prepared in any way you can imagine. Breaux Bridge is truly a place like no other, immersed in Cajun culture that you can feel from miles away and everyday we are blessed to live La joie de vivre. Proudly representing the World famous Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, the largest aquaculture industry in the state of Louisiana, and the one and only Crawfish Capital of the world, I am your 2024 Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Queen, Demi Layne Patin.
