Queen Zulu: Rose Roché of Port Allen
On January 2, 2021, the West Baton Rouge Museum opened a new exhibition, Queen Zulu: Rose Roché of Port Allen. Rose A. Lee Roché made history in 1996 when she became the first queen not from New Orleans to preside over the famous Mardi Gras krewe known as the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club.
Roché is a West Baton Rouge native and graduate of Cohn High School. She later attended Southern University and worked there for many years before becoming Director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Port Allen.
The WBRM is proud to feature Queen Zulu Rose Roché’s costume, photographs, memorabilia, vintage coconuts, throws, and posters. For the first time, eleven sketches by the legendary Mardi Gras costume designer Anthony Colombo and his wife Shirley for various Zulu Queens will be on exhibit. Visitors will learn about the unique experience of being Queen Zulu and the history behind one of America’s largest and most popular carnival krewes, the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. The exhibit closed February 28, 2021.
Exhibit Activities
In collaboration with FantomLight Productions and Pelican Publishing, an imprint of Arcadia Publishing, the West Baton Rouge Museum is hosting a virtual reading of D.J. and the Zulu Parade by Denise Walter McConduit, performed by Queen Zulu, Rose A. Lee Roché. Watch the performance here!
This program has accompanying activities to do in the classroom or from home, such as making a Mardi Gras Mask or Shoe Box Float, available below.