CHIMACUM — The Queen’s Coronation for the 90th Rhododendron Festival will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Chimacum High School auditorium.
Royalty candidates Taylor Frank and Lorelei Turner will represent the Jefferson County at parades and festivals across the state, from the middle of April to the end of September, festival president Lori Morris said.
“We go to about 10 to 15 parades a year,” Morris said. “They get to mingle with other festivals, they represent our community, especially in Seattle when we go to SeaFair. We get judged at every parade. They have a choreographed dance that they will learn.”
Royalty will perform the dance before judges at every parade, as well as throughout the parade, Morris said.
Admission to the coronation is $5.
At Saturday’s event, one candidate will be crowned queen while the other will take up the princess crown.
The queen will receive a $2,500 scholarship and the princess will receive $2,000. The responsibilities are relatively similar as each will attend the same events, but the queen may be called on for a few more forward-facing duties, Morris said.
Frank is involved in Interact Club and Knowledge Bowl. She enjoys reading and helping others. Frank plans to study nursing and to become a nurse practitioner. She is the oldest of six, with four sisters and one brother. Her mother is Patricia Hall.
Turner is a sophomore at Chimacum Junior/Senior High School. Her interests include cheerleading, community service with Rainbow Girls and writing. She enjoys gaming and spending time with her friends.
Turner plans to have a profession in real estate or as a high school history teacher. She recently moved to the area with her brother and her parents Bruce and Becky Turner.
Rhody royalty candidates have participated in a number of activities starting the middle of December to qualify for their candidacy, Morris said.
“There are several different components,” Morris said. “They started speaking engagements in early January.”
Frank and Turner have given speeches on four topics.
One of the prompts asked the candidates to describe where in the world they would travel to and why, Morris said. Another prompted them to describe what they find meaningful about community service.
Frank and Turner also were required to write an essay on community service and to participate in a royalty training committee and a coronation program, Morris said.
Each activity is an opportunity for the candidates to receive points toward a total score, which will ultimately decide who is crowned as the Rhody Queen, Morris said.
Additional royalty will be crowned on Saturday.
“We also will be crowning our junior royalty, which is our first-graders,” Morris said. “They will represent the first-graders during Rhody week mostly.”
The Queen’s court, consisting of seventh- and eighth-graders, will be crowned as well as Port Townsend Community Center senior royalty.
The Grand Parade will be held at 1 p.m. May 17. The deadline for participating is April 12.
The Rhody Festival will take place May 14-18.
A schedule of events, including out-of-town parades and festivals, can be found at https://rhodyfestival.org.
This year’s Rhody Fest pins can be purchased for $10. A list of locations selling the pins can be found on the festival website’s homepage.
Morris said the festival is seeking donations and sponsorships. Those interested can find information and make contact through the website, she said.
Those interested in volunteering for the festival can contact Rita Hubbard at 360-301-1104.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
