Bash on the Bayou

	The Royal Scepter

If you visit the Web site for the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival and click on the royalty section, you'll see the king and queen of last year's festival, resplendent in white and wearing crowns and triumphant grins, each gripping a scepter.

And atop the scepter is what could be the symbol of this entire festival -- a shrimp wrapped around an oil derrick.

The festival, now in its 71st year, is the pride and joy of Morgan City, La. The annual event celebrates the marriage of two industries -- oil and shrimp --that to the rest of the country likely seem at odds with each another, but which have proved to be the lifeblood of southern Louisiana for the past century.

Louisiana is responsible for approximately 35% of the nation's domestic shrimp haul; in 2004, the state produced 83.6 million barrels of oil, ranking it near the top in crude oil production nationwide.

Morgan City is nestled on the Atchafalaya River, 90 miles southwest of New Orleans.

For approximately 360 days out of the year, it's home to about 15,000 people; each Labor Day weekend, however, during the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, the population swells to a comparatively gargantuan 150,000.

"We have people that travel every year from Canada," says Jada Aloisio, this year's festival organizer.

Geaux Deep

While the history of shrimping in Louisiana goes back almost as far as the history of the state itself -- in 1774, a visitor to the region made note of the shrimp being caught with large nets in the lakes south of New Orleans -- the shrimp festival didn't get its start until the mid-1930s, when shrimpers from Morgan City obtained the equipment necessary to go harvesting out in the deeper waters of the gulf.

"Because that's where the shrimp are born, it was a natural thing for them to want to go to deeper water," Aloisio explains.

The shrimpers, back from the gulf and ecstatic about their hefty catch, paraded through the streets of Morgan City to celebrate, and the shrimp festival was born.

The next year, 1937, the blessing of the fleet was added, and the festival has been growing ever since.

By 1967, offshore drilling had been long established in the nearby Gulf of Mexico, and petroleum was formally added to the festival.

Today, of course, the oil industry has a strong presence in the area.

Shell (RDSA Quote) sponsors the festival, BP (BP Quote) and recent Anadarko (APC Quote) acquisition Kerr-McGee also have a significant impact on the local economy.

	All Hail the Festival Queen

Morgan City is even home to the International Petroleum Museum and Exposition, which features "Mr. Charlie," a retired oil rig the public can tour.

Since its inception, the festival has been held every year except one. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck Morgan City.

"There were places here that didn't have power for six weeks," Aloisio recalls, and the festival had to be canceled.

Last year, however, in the wake of devastating Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the festival was one of the only recurring state events to be held.

Festival organizers wanted it to be "a symbol of the rebirth of Louisiana," and 120,000 people -- close to the average -- attended.

Proceeds were donated to victims of the hurricanes.