BATON ROUGE — Get your bras, beads, glitter, and glue ready! Mardi Gras is right around the corner, and krewes are hard at work decorating bras to throw off their Spanish Town floats to raise breast cancer awareness, and in hopes of winning the “Cup of Excellence” award.
It’s an initiative Roxanne Haerther-Leachman started when she was the Spanish Town Queen in 2007, and has only grown in the almost two decades since. “From my understanding, I think there are seven krewes doing it now,” Haerther-Leachman said. “Last year, I think we figured we threw around maybe 500 off our float.”
Behind the bras
When Haerther-Leachman was queen, her late husband said she needed to come up with a signature that was hers. Breast cancer is a cause that’s close to her and her late husband’s heart, and that’s how she came up with the idea.
“His grandmother had breast cancer in 1961. She was born in 1906 and lived to be almost 100 years old,” Haerther-Leachman said. “She had double mastectomy in ’61, from my understanding, so I just thought, ‘Let’s do that in memory of her.'”
Since its inception, Haerther-Leachman has only come to know more people who are fighting the disease. “One of my krewe members is fighting it right now. My best friend is a survivor as of two or three days ago,” she said. “I’m blessed that I don’t have that gene. But I want people to get checked. It’s very important. You have to do it. I want to raise breast cancer awareness for women, but also for men.”
‘Cup of Excellence’ Award rules
This Mardi Gras, Haerther-Leachman is taking on a new role. “This year I’m a judge. I’ve waited so long to be a judge, so I’m excited. I’m having a blast,” she said. “I get to put on a challenge, because the judge gets to pick an award, and mine is the Cup of Excellence.”
“My challenge to the krewes is to decorate your bras, put it in memory of someone who you lost, or who you know that’s fighting. And just pass it on. Pay it forward to the crowd,” Haerther-Leachman said.
Haerther-Leachman posted the official rules on the awards’ Facebook page:
JUDGE ROCKY, MINIONS PAM AND ANGIE welcome you all to the challenge…
Official Rules for The Cup of Excellence Award
1) Post decorating bras with your krewe or while you’re sitting alone on this page, with krewe name or Captain.
2) We encourage you to write or place a sticker inside bra with Krewe’s name. Or if you know of someone fighting breast cancer, survivor, or in memory inside…
3) For count purposes…video or take a photo with your bras and place it in messenger.
REMEMBER THIS IS FOR FUN.
It’s NOT ALL ABOUT THE BRA COUNT!!!
THE DEBAUCHERY IS KEY!
4) The Minions Pam and Angie will be at Bribery, too. The best part of all of this is seeing parade attendees catching one of your creations. They love it…
Remember, if it’s windy, be diligent in throwing bras. IMPORTANT DO NOT HAND DOWN. You will be surprised how far decorated bras will go.
HAVE FUN.
See you all on the parade route!
Haerther-Leachman says it’s all about the decorating. “If they want to have decorating parties, my minions and I are keeping track of everything that’s going on,” she said. “I’ve even gone to the beach and brought my bras and decorated while we’re driving out of town.”
Everyone is invited to decorate a bra, even if you aren’t part of a krewe. “If they would like to decorate one in memory of somebody, they can donate it to the krewe of their choice, it would just have to be their ground crew,” Haerther-Leachman explained. “Just have that ‘in memory of’ or whatever you think would be best to put inside the bra, so they know what it’s for.”
Bra toss
Haerther-Leachman said the best part is seeing what the people who catch the bras do with them once they have them. “The older gentlemen, they hand it to their wives and turn red,” she said. “Once in a blue moon, there’s a 15- or 16-year-old young man, and they put them on like they’re ear muffs.”
This year, Haerther-Leachman says one float will be throwing bras farther than ever before. “One of our krewe members has a t-shirt cannon, so they’re going to be shot out of there.”
And don’t worry, size doesn’t matter. “It could be an A cup. It could be a really big one, or even a bathing suit top,” she said. “It just gets the message across.”
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