THE BLESSING OF THE FLEET.

With a floating procession as majestic as any Mardi Gras parade, and similarly tooted in religion, the Biloxi Blessing of the Fleet is a Coastal tradition to be embraced.

The custom of blessing fishing boats was originated along the Mediterranean and was started in Biloxi in 1929. As reported in the August 12,1929, edition of the Daily Herald: "Hundreds of small and large fishing boats were anchored together to wait the blessing of the good priest Father Hillebrand of St. Michael's Church who has been doing splendid work at the Point."

The Blessing of the Fleet is a ceremony held prior to shrimp season each year to bless the shrimpers and their boats to insure a safe and bountiful season. Similar ceremonies have been held in Pascagoula and are still held in Pass Christian. This year there were fewer boats than last year participating in the Biloxi blessing ceremony, continuing a trend over the last 10 to 15 years. During the shrimping industry's heyday, shrimpers were primarily of Yugoslavian or French descent. The Shrimp King would rotate back and forth between these ethnic groups, and the coronation would be held at either the Slovenian or French lodge.

Now this tradition has changed, and members of the Vietnamese community own most of the large boats that make up the shrimping fleet. And many of these Vietnamese shrimpers choose not to participate in the Blessing of the Fleet; citing reasons such as they are already shrimping in neighboring waters when the ceremony is held.

Michelle Sekul, publicity and advertising chair of the festival committee says it hurts to see this wonderful tradition fading and adds that it must be preserved. "I'm there every year. I can't remember ever not going to the blessing." Shrimping is a family tradition and Sekul strongly recalls believing if their boat didn't get blessed, they wouldn't catch any shrimp.

While fewer boats participating is a concern for committee members, it doesn't diminish the exceptional weekend, particularly the Christian tradition of the blessing ceremony.

The blessing, held the first Sunday of May, is put together by a special committee that works with the priest and staff of St. Michael's Catholic Church. Located on the beach along Biloxi's Point Cadet, the church, known as the fisherman's church, features depictions of the fishing and seafood industry on its stained glass windows.

Each year the Blessing of the Fleet service begins with the dropping of the ceremonial wreath that honors those fishermen and industry workers who are now deceased. Next a priest, usually the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, says a prayer over the fleet. This year, Bishop Joseph Howze prayed, "We beseech your blessings, O Lord. Graciously hear our prayers and, in your goodness and mercy, bless these boats and all who sail on them. Grant them a good and fruitful voyage and a safe return to their families. Grant continued prosperity to our seafood industry We pray in Jesus' name. Amen."

After the benediction, about 50 colorfully decorated boats began to parade past the Bishop's boat. This year, the Princess Mai hosted Bishop Howze, and joining him on the boat were the Shrimp King and Queen. In the very early years of the ceremony, the boats to be blessed lined up closely, and the priest walked from boat to boat giving each his blessing. This part of the tradition was changed early on when a priest fell between two boats and was injured. From the "blessing boat," Bishop Howze, as those priests before him, sprinkled holy water and blessed each of the passing boats.

The blessing is by far the most important part of the ceremony, but boats also parade to compete for best decoration honors and prizes. And the prizes are worth a little competition. All working shrimp boats are eligible to participate in the decoration contest, and all shrimp boats that complete the parade route are eligible for the $1,000 Participation Award. In the decoration competition, the top five boats take home cash prizes with first place also winning $1,000. Decorations are usually religious or nautical in nature; patriotic themes are always popular.

The blessing ceremony is the focal point of a weekend festival that includes events for ceremony participants as well as Coast residents and tourists to the area.

The weekend traditionally kicks off with a royal dinner on Friday to which all past shrimp king and queens are invited and the current shrimp queen contestants are introduced.

Saturday brings the first public event--a race between two wooden schooners, known as the Great Biloxi Schooner Race. The Gwen L. Swetman and the Mike Sekul, replicas of the schooners that used to harvest seafood in the late 1800s and early 1900s, sail for bragging rights in the Biloxi Channel. This year's winner was the Mike Sekul.

Later in the day, a coronation ceremony is held for the Shrimp King and Queen. The Shrimp Queen is a descendant of a shrimping family and the King is a working shrimper. This year's King is Ngyuyen Yan Nguyen who owns two boats, the 90-foot Miss Dana and the 99-foot Princess Mai. Van Nguyen came to Biloxi from Vietnam in 1981 when he was 12 years old. He learned the shrimping trade from his father and is passing the tradition on to his sons, Alex and Andrew. The Shrimp Queen is Lauren Lynn Reeder who recently graduated Valedictorian from Mercy Cross High School. Both her great grandfather and uncle were shrimpers.

One of the most delicious parts of the festival is the Shrimp Festival Dinner that follows the coronation. Tickets are available to the public, and the cost buys the ticket-holder a most flavorful evening. Chefs from various restaurants participate in a Chef Cook-Off and their wonderful creations are served at the dinner.

Traditionally, the shrimp dinner began with the favored dishes of the shrimping families. The women in the families would prepare multiple recipes of their specialties creating a true seafood feast. Later, the festival dinner became simply a boiled shrimp meal. Now it has returned to a varied selection of shrimp dishes, although prepared in more modern kitchens.

The food and fun that make up this culturally rich festival, with the religious ritual at its core, celebrate the heritage of the Coast and its people. In addition to all the tradition, it's also just plain fun.