By Christopher Manson
The 70th Annual Billy Bowlegs Coronation Pageant was held Saturday, June 14, at Niceville’s Mattie Kelly Arts Center. The free public event unveiled the tightly-guarded identity of Captain Billy 70, Rique Gwin, along with his Queen, his First Mate and Mistress, his 10-couple Honor Guard, and the theme for the new Bowlegs year. The first half of the event bid a hearty farewell to Captain Billy 69 Michael Castleberry and the Bottoms Up Krewe.
Keeping the new Captain Billy’s identity a secret involves a lot of planning carried out through anonymous emails starting in the eight or so months leading up to the Coronation Pageant.
The criteria for selecting Bowlegs and the rest of the key players/pirates is very specific, but boils down to candidates’ experience in the Krewe. “The previous Captains get together and decide who should lead the crew,” says Gwin/Billy.
“Captain Billy picks everyone else in their Top 26. The First Mate and Mistress have been our friends for years. When I was First Mate, the new Queen was on the honor guard. It was a natural selection that just made sense. It’s a huge undertaking. They really have to want to be involved.”
In addition, rising high school seniors are invited to take part as Princesses and Privateers. And younger children are encouraged to serve as Children of the Court. “This year, we have 11 Children of the Court ranging in ages from one to nine years old.” Gwin’s two grown children served as Princesses in previous years while attending high school.
Gwin has been involved with the Krewe for 14 years. “One of our friends from church invited us to attend some social events, and the Bowlegs people were so friendly and supportive.” The Gwins are originally from Alabama—Rique is a Birmingham transplant, and his wife Kelly was born in Fort Rucker. They are both retired Air Force. Gwin was First Mate during the Covid outbreak, which, if you count that, would make this year 71. So, we’re not counting it.
Captain Billy 70 will be planning out the year’s numerous events—including travel and costumes—with the Queen, Debbie Fisher, and her husband, J. Mark Fisher; and the First Mate and Mistress.
The Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival originated in 1954. Through the years, the Krewe has swash buckled at the center of it all—civic-minded, volunteer-driven, and devoted to fun and service. “The original thing for the crew 70 years ago was to attract tourism, which is still one of our main goals,” says Gwin. “We travel as far north as Minnesota and as far south as Sarastota, building relationships with other Krewes. They do variations similar to our festival, some as long as two weeks and some a couple of hours. Our goal is ambassadorship for the city of Fort Walton Beach.
“Every year, costumes are custom made, funded by the Krewe out of our own pockets. This year D and D Creations, one of the Mardi Gras houses in New Orleans, made them. The colors have a lot of significance—since I’m an aviator, I picked blue and silver as our colors, for the sky and lightning storm effect. Our new logo will reflect that symbolism as well.”
The theme for Year 70 is Doolittle’s Raiders, in honor of the courageous men who participated in America’s 1942 bombing mission against Tokyo. The Raiders have strong ties to our local military community.
“I absolutely love this Krewe, the area and the patriotic spirit we have here,” says Gwin. “I’ll do anything I can to improve the relationship between the Krewe and the community. One of the major themes this year is honoring not only our history as a Krewe, but also the history of the community.”
Set sail for more pirate fun at kreweofbowlegs.com.
