The Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale has picked its royalty for the 2027 Mardi Gras season, naming registered nurse Rayven LeJah Roberts as queen-select and Tremé restaurateur Arkesha Smith Baquet as grand marshal. Roberts, a third-generation member of the krewe, was chosen from among three candidates to reign over the group's Carnival festivities, while Baquet brings decades of culinary and civic credentials to her post leading the parade.
The announcement, first reported by NOLA.com, comes as the krewe gears up for a parade that now numbers more than 2,180 members across 26 states, part of an organization that has inducted over 320 new members in recent seasons. Roberts, who joined the krewe in 2019, is the daughter of the late Shawn Brock and Tamika Delatte, and the outlet describes her as a community advocate in addition to her nursing career. Before her selection as monarch, she served on five internal committees covering Public Relations, Merchandise, Health & Wellness, Community Engagement and Special Events, according to the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale.
A Third-Generation Queen With Deep Roots
Roberts's ascension to the throne continues a family tradition within the krewe, though the same NOLA.com report does not specify which relatives preceded her in membership. Femme Fatale, founded in 2013, is recognized as the first New Orleans Mardi Gras krewe created by Black women for Black women, though its membership is open to women of all backgrounds, per historical context published by The Loyola Maroon. The krewe's official colors are candy apple red, black and white, and its signature parade throw is a hand-decorated compact mirror meant to symbolize inward and outward reflection, according to Where Y'at New Orleans.
Roberts will reign over the krewe's 2027 parade, themed The Grand Tour: From the Gulf to Around the Globe, which rolls along the traditional St. Charles Avenue route on the first Sunday of Carnival season, Jan. 31, 2027, per the original report. The krewe's royal gala is set for Friday, Jan. 29, 2027, at Caesars Superdome.
Grand Marshal Brings Tremé Culinary Legacy
Grand Marshal Arkesha Smith Baquet owns and operates Tremé's historic Lil Dizzy's Café alongside her husband, Wayne. The restaurant's Black-owned New Orleans lineage traces back to the 1940s-era Paul Gross Chicken Coop, according to background reporting from Camellia Brand. Baquet and her husband took over full ownership and operations of the café in February 2021 following the retirement of founder Wayne Baquet Sr.
Baquet is described in the NOLA.com report as a restaurateur and community leader who has been a cultural champion, having served as co-lieutenant of the Gemme Mabulous krewe and ridden with that organization since 2014. Her civic résumé extends further: Baquet received the 2026 New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund Honors Award for Culinary Arts and sits on the Board of Directors for the youth music nonprofit Roots of Music, per details from the krewe itself.
A Krewe With Year-Round Reach
Femme Fatale's civic footprint extends well beyond its annual parade. The group's flagship Say Yes to the Prom Dress event distributes free formal gowns and accessories to hundreds of New Orleans high school students each spring, according to The Louisiana Weekly. The organization also runs youth auxiliary groups called Future Femmes and Le Jeune Femmes for girls ages 7 to 20, incorporating mother-daughter teas, craft workshops and mentorship into its year-round programming, per the krewe's own materials.
That civic work has drawn formal recognition at the state level. In April 2025, the Louisiana Senate passed Senate Resolution No. 61, commending the krewe and its 40-member dance troupe, Cherchez La Femme, for cultural leadership and breaking barriers in Mardi Gras history, according to the Louisiana State Legislature.
Early Announcements Reflect A Squeezed Calendar
The early royal announcement fits a broader pattern this year, as New Orleans krewes race to lock in leadership and logistics ahead of a compressed Carnival calendar. The 2027 season runs just five weeks, from Twelfth Night on Jan. 6, 2027 to Fat Tuesday on Feb. 9, 2027, a squeeze Hoodline detailed in its report on the tightened schedule. That timeline has already prompted the New Orleans Police Department to propose earlier start times and route tweaks for several Uptown parades beginning in 2027, aimed at easing officer scheduling strain and late-night overtime costs.
Femme Fatale is not the only krewe making headlines with milestone leadership picks this summer. The krewe of Oshun recently crowned New Orleans Mardi Gras's first Asian American royal couple for 2027, another sign of how this season's court announcements are arriving earlier and carrying more cultural weight than in past years.
