Mardi Gras queen named; King Jace unveiled
WOONSOCKET — Mardi Gras has begun locally with the coronation of Lori Paul Thuot as Mardi Gras Queen 2020 and the unveiling of that mysterious character, King Jace XXVI, as none other than Dominique Doiron, the executive director of St. Ann Arts & Cultural Center at 84 Cumberland St.
Doiron’s surprise appearance as King Jace, a festive figure based on the original involvement of the Woonsocket Jaycees in Mardi Gras, is a fitting one given that St. Ann Arts & Cultural Center has been the home of Mardi Gras in recent years and will again host the big bash Saturday night in the downstairs event center.
Thuot earned her crown by selling the most tickets for the Northern Rhode Island Council of the Arts annual Queen’s Coronation fundraiser and was joined in her court by First
Princess Tabitha Westerhuis and Second Princess Ashley Robitaille.
“It was a lot of hard work but I loved it,” Thuot said of her selection as Queen. “I met a lot of wonderful people in the process,” she added.
Helping her out in the Queen campaign was her sister, Sandy Paul, who had been Queen in 2013. Thuot also thanked the people who helped by buying tickets in support of her and said she was very pleased to see it was Doiron as her King Jace.
“I love Dominique and what he does at St. Ann,” she said. “I put on a Christmas Party there every year and they are always very supportive,” Thuot said of
the Arts & Cultural Center.
Doiron looked a bit relieved to have shed the heavy King Jace robes, full beard, dark glasses and a long hair wig that effective cloaks in the honoree from identification.
“It feels great,” Doiron said after his costume had been removed.
“For me the most difficult part was that I had to be silent and I am not a very silent person,” Doiron, a voice and theater performance graduate of Rhode Island College, noted.
King Jace also has to make appearances around the city under the guidance of Squire Dave Richards while his photos and clues are circulating and can only beep a horn when asked questions by people that he encounters.
“We had to go to a list of locations around the city for the photographs and also visited the radio stations,” Doiron said of his local tour.
The best part of the experience, he said, was knowing it would also help St. Ann Arts & Cultural Center.
“We’ve been hosting the Mardi Gras for several years now and it is a great event for city. You get to see two non-profit arts organizations working together for the community and that is what we do,” Doiron said.
Sunday’s Queen’s Coronation was held upstairs at Savini’s Pomodoro Restaurant and included a pasta dinner. Ernest DiSpirito donated his DJ services for the event and Judith Potter Photography the photographs of the contestants published with their biographies.
A list of other local businesses contributed to the events and are also supporting the Mardi Gras party at St. Ann Arts & Cultural Center running from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. The night includes a buffet dinner, music by the Squeezebox Stompers and plenty of dancing.
Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. For more information contact Lorraine Cloutier at 762-9072.
Queen Coronation Emcee and Northern R.I. Council of the Arts President Sharon Charette said the Queen contest is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Council and goes toward the organization’s scholarship program and putting on its two major events, Mardi Gras and the French Heritage Festival at River Island Park in the fall.
“We give two scholarships a year, one to a student at Woonsocket High School and the other to a student at the Beacon Charter High School for the Arts,” Charette noted. “Our organization is all volunteer,” she added while noting the work everyone puts in to make the Council’s events successful.
Nicole Riendeau, Mardi Gras Queen for 2017 and Tammy Irwin, a 2017 Princess, were the chairs for the Queen
Coronation and joining them as committee members were Marlene Gagnon and Lorraine Cloutier.
The event also drew past Queen and King honorees such as Noel Pincince, King Jace in 2001, and Sue Beaulieu, the Queen that year.
“I see Noel all the time, he is a good friend, Beaulieu said after sharing a moment with Pincince.
“When my husband, Michael and I were married 35 years ago, Noel sang at our wedding,” she said.
Beaulieu said she and Michael will also be going to Mardi Gras on Saturday and expect it will be a lot of fun with the Squeezebox Stompers, a Cajun and Zydeco band, performing.
Thuot has been employed by CVS Health for the past 33 years and in her free time enjoys playing tennis and spending time with her granddaughter and friends.
She is frequently involved in causes benefiting the local community and has volunteered for Operation Elves, Feed the Children of Woonsocket and the Christmas Fundraiser of St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center.
Dave Richards provided the following explanation of the ten clues which were used by citizens to guess the true identity of King Jace:
Clue 1: “—2 degrees separate him from others.” Dominique has earned two Bachelor’s Degrees.
Clue 2: “—Is Woonsocket born and raised.” An obvious clue. Dominique is a proud Villa Novan.
Clue 3: “—Is a cruiser who loves opera. ” One of his favorite vacations was on a cruise ship. And, Dominique not only loves the opera, but sings opera and enjoys trips to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Clue 4: “—Is impatient with impatient people.” Like most folks, our king has little appreciation for impatience.
Clue 5: “—Supports those who support their community.” As a lifelong volunteer, Dominique has a soft spot in his heart for those who are active in community betterment.
Clue 6: “—Hates seafood, loves the big apple.” Another king who doesn’t care for seafood, we’ve had several. The second part of this clue alludes to Dominique’s love of traveling to New York City to take in an opera or a show.
Clue 7: “—Loves it when he and ‘things’ work out.” Admitting he doesn’t get chance to do it as often as he’d like, the king says he feels great when he can work out for fitness. The rests of the clue was added for interest, as he does enjoy seeing a plan come to fruition.
Clue 8: “—Serves those he works with.” Dominique works in membership at the Kent County YMCA, serving the members and staff there.
Clue 9: “—Will someday return to Paris.” Dominique
took part in a school trip to Paris while attending Woonsocket High School. He dreams of returning there as an adult.
Clue 10: “—Not used to this much hair.” For the first time, King Jace wrote this clue entirely by himself. It was his reaction to wearing the costume for the first time. Dominique is a young man who lost his hair at an unusually early age.
Richards noted that both Dominique, in his King’s robes but not in his disguise, and Queen Lori will reign over the Woonsocket Mardi Gras Ball with the two Princesses this coming Saturday, Feb. 22nd, at the Saint Ann Arts and Cultural Center on Cumberland Street in Woonsocket and will also ride as featured guests in the 2020 Autumnfest Parade this fall.