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S T TA M M A N Y FA R M E R.N E T
W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 14, 2026
Some fear higher costs might force moving parades, more from city
BY JIM DERRY
Contributing writer With a larger crowd than usual in attendance, and following much discussion, the Mandeville City Council unanimously approved an ordinance at its Jan. 8 meeting that almost certainly will increase the price local groups pay to stage parades and other public events in the city. Each member of the five-person council questioned the city’s staff throughout the 54-minute discussion on the ordinance, which they say was designed to make costs equal for all groups and associations. “We wanted to improve the special-events process and make it more transparent, so that when people are going through the permitting process, they will know what to expect as far as costs,” Elizabeth Sconzert, Mandeville’s city attorney, told the council. “As it was previously written, you would have a committee, you would sit there and have different individuals providing insight. That could place some subjective elements on it, and this takes all of that out.” While the ordinance does not state a specific cost that groups will pay to hold an event, it was clear that every group (including nonprofits) will pay the same fee, which wasn’t the case previously. “The Mandeville High School homecoming parade — are they going to pay the fee?” asked Glen Runyon, a frequent speaker at council meetings. Sconzert replied “Yes, that’s why they have booster clubs.” Members of Queer Northshore, a nonprofit that promotes “LGBTQ+ visibility, community, and acceptance,” were among the more engaged at the Jan. 8 council meeting. The organization has held its Pride Northshore parade on the Mandeville Lakefront the past two years. Members who spoke were concerned the ordinance could increase their parade overhead by 400%, which
ä See FEES, page 2A
50¢N
A DAY FOR KINGS, QUEENS AND FOOLS
PHOTO BY GRANT THERKILDSEN
Michelle Theriot, the Mande Milk Queen for 2026, waves to the crowd on the lakefront Jan. 10 for the annual Mande Kings Day Parade. ä More photos from the Mande Milkshakers’
parade. PAGE 2A
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Mandeville streamlines special-event permit fees
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152ND YEAR, NO. 14
PHOTOS BY MATTHEW PAYZANT
His Foolishness, the 2026 Lord of Fools, mugs for the camera after finding a lucky bean in his king cake on Jan. 10. The Covington parade is one of the most colorful of the entire Carnival season.
A masked Jewel makes her way through the throngs as the St. John Fools of Misrule made merry. ä
More of the Fools of Misrule. PAGE 2A
Brenda Palmer St. Tammany welcomes art installations organizing Several towns will host bronze statues as part of an outdoor art gallery Lacombe MLK events BY KADEE KRIEGER Contributing writer
BY DARREN COOPER Contributing writer
Activist, church leader and political liaison Brenda Palmer never stops working to improve the northshore community. In addition to her regular responsibilities, Palmer is putting together Lacombe’s Martin Luther King Day program inside the gymnasium at John Davis Park at 3 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19. U.S. Rep. Troy Palmer Carter, D-New Orleans, will be keynote speaker of the program themed, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.” “I feel like every little town should do something to mark the day,” said Palmer. “People died for the Voting Rights Act, and it’s like
ä See EVENTS, page 3A
PHOTO BY BOBBY GILBOY
Covington businesswoman Lisa Ward, who heads the city’s Public Art Fund, displays images of two pieces of public art that will soon be located in Covington, Slidell, Mandeville, Madisonville and Abita Springs.
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This spring, a group of colorful guests will settle in for a year-long residency in the towns of St. Tammany, bringing with them an engaging and possibly surprising artistic experience. “You will be walking down the sidewalk and think you see a guy painting, and then realize it’s a statue,” Covington Public Art Fund President Lisa Ward said of the collection of 15 bronze statues that will turn Covington, Slidell, Mandeville, Madisonville and Abita Springs into an outdoor art gallery starting in April. Artist Seward Johnson II, grandson of Johnson & Johnson co-founder Robert Wood Johnson, created a collection of statues that depict everyday people engaged in ordinary activities. The Seward
Johnson Atelier then rotates the inventory of 450 life-size cast bronze sculptures globally in private collections, museums and public spaces. Ward said when she found out about the collection, she said she knew the “Art Imitates Life” Sculpture Tour was a perfect fit for the Covington Public Art Fund, a nonprofit organization that seeks to display art in any form in public spaces in the Covington area. Sculpted between 1983 and 2004, she said the collection is making its Louisiana debut in St. Tammany and will be a fun addition to the area for both visitors and residents alike. “We have always had a reputation as a community that supports the arts and draws many artists to live here. This is an opportunity to make that
ä See ART, page 3A
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