The Krewe of Xanadu is celebrating their annual ball tonight by paying special tribute to the men and women who have served our country. 

“To have this honor to be able to represent Xanadu and all of our military in the United States of America in the Xanadu united we stand ball been a blessing and an honor. And to be able to do it with Greg as a retired Army veteran has just made it 10 times better than I ever could have imagined,” says Stephanie Fakier

She and George Saloom reign over the crew of Xanadu this year as they honor veterans and their families. 

“I’m so humbled to be their king. We have invited so many veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, to the Cold War, Desert Storm to the president. We’ve been brought veterans and active-duty members to sit in because this is a celebration of all of them. The men and women that have served,” Saloom says.

This year’s decor and costumes showcased the red white and blue in magnificent Mardi Gras fashion while paying tribute to those who’ve served. 

“With all of the active-duty military here and veterans, a lot of them are going to be in their military dress, so that makes it even more special because it really is an homage to what they’ve done, the sacrifices they have made and some really nice surprises that are gonna absolutely blow your mind,” Fakier says.

The Krewe of Xanadu started preparing for next years ball one week from today.