The Krewe of Romany, the oldest ladies‑only Mardi Gras krewe in Baton Rouge, celebrated its 76th year with its annual ball on Saturday, January 31. For this year’s ball captain, Ashley Fabre, the production was especially meaningful. Given the city of New York’s special place in her life, the event centered on the theme “New York State of Mind.”

“It’s a lifelong love letter to the city that shaped my dreams,” Fabre says.

The Baton Rouge native fell in love with New York City when she was 10, she says.”Every summer, my parents took me to the city for Broadway musicals, dance intensives at Broadway Dance Center and ten days of pure magic,” she explains. “I vividly remember walking past the MTV Studios in Times Square in the eighth grade, pointing to the windows of Total Request Live and declaring, ‘I’m going to work there one day.'”

After graduating from Episcopal in 2002 and earning a music business degree from Belmont University, she landed a fall internship in New York City, exactly where she had declared she would.

“I became the sole studio intern at Total Request Live, the very studio I’d dreamed of,” she says. “That internship led to a full-time position at MTV, and four months later, I was offered my dream role of Studio Coordinator at MTV Studios.”

Working with icons including Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Green Day and Jessica Simpson, Fabre was living out her New York City dreams. These days, she’s back living in Baton Rouge, and the mother of two has also achieved her Krewe of Romany dreams, combining her favorite city with her favorite Mardi Gras krewe.

“As a third-generation ball captain, Romany is in my blood,” she says. “I’ve known the theme since that first trip to NYC, and it’s been a joy to bring our krewe and community along for the ride.”

With two daughters of her own, Fabre says she’s had the honor of sharing her love of the city with them. “Two summers ago, I brought them to New York, and they fell in love with it just as deeply,” she says. Passing along the age-old traditions of Mardi Gras is a high priority for the many different krewes, after all.

Learn more about the Krewe of Romany by visiting the organization’s website.