KREWE OF OKEANOS
The Krewe of Okeanos ushered in the Carnival Season at their annual Twelfth Night Revels on Saturday Jan. 10 at the Price Center. Krewe members wearing costumes and masks, enjoyed drinks, appetizers and desserts in the Garden Room before assembling in the 1910 Ballroom where Jude Prather and Kathy Martinez- Prather were crowned King and Queen Okeanos XIV to reign over San Marcos during the 2026 Mardi Gras celebrations.
The Prathers will pre- side over the presentation of the Krewe’s Eighth Coterie of Debutantes at the Grand Ball on Jan. 24 and lead the annual Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday Feb. 14 through the historic districts of San Marcos. You can participate in the parade by signing up on the Krewe’s website at mardigrassanmarcos. com.
Kathy Martinez-Prather is the Executive Director of the Texas State School Safety Center; President of the Hays County Food Bank Board of Directors; Chair of the City of San Marcos Civil Service Commission; and board member of the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Texas State.
Jude Prather enlisted in the US Army after 911 and served in Iraq with the 100th Battalion 442nd Infantry “Go for Broke” Regiment as a Humvee gunner. He has also served as the Hays County Veteran Service Officer and was elected to the San Marcos City Council three times. He has also served on the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and volunteered with the Southside Community Center, Mission Able, Hats Off for Veterans and Patriots Hall. He has a degree in Public Administration from Texas State.
If you remember the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Jan.6 marks the twelfth day after Christmas and the end of Christmastide. It is celebrated by Christian faiths as the feast of the Epiphany which marked the time the Three Wise Men or Three Kings visited the baby Jesus. You will find the holiday celebrated with King Cakes or Rosca de Reyes, thus the Twelfth Night is the traditional end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of Carnival.
The Krewe of Okeanos was founded in 2012 with Jerry and Nelwyn Moore reigning as the first King and Queen at a masquerade ball held in a private home. The following year the Krewe added the parade, and has been making Mardi Gras magic happen ever since. Membership in the Krewe is closed for this year but you can get information on joining by emailing KreweofOkeanosinformation@ gmail.com
Photos courtesy Krewe of Okeanos
