PORT TOWNSEND — Only two candidates will compete for the queen’s crown during the Rhododendron Festival coronation Saturday.
Two other candidates dropped out this week, said Rita Hubbard, the festival’s grand parade chairwoman for 2010.
Either Ashlee Nollette or Teslin LeMaster, both juniors at Port Townsend High School, will be crowned queen while the other is crowned princess during the coronation that will begin at 5 p.m. at Chimacum High School, 91 West Valley Road.
Nick Reynolds, a senior at Chimacum High School, and Chimacum junior Dani Kaminski both dropped out of the contest this week, Hubbard said.
Reynolds, who was only the second young man to vie for the Rhody Fest royal court in the history of the 75th annual festival, “realized it would interfere with his track schedule,” Hubbard said.
She did not the know the reason that Kaminski dropped out.
Saturday also will be the last official appearance of Quilcene’s Cecily Ellis as queen and Port Townsend’s Kayla Reynolds as princess.
The queen will receive a $1,500 scholarship, while the princess gets a $1,000 scholarship.
Both will ride the festival float and attend between 10 to 14 parades and festivals in Washington state and Oregon.
The last 25 percent of a candidate’s score will be judged on coronation night.
Judging of speaking engagements are 30 percent, judges’ interviews are another 30, and the judging of the royalty training committee makes up 15 percent.
Tickets to the coronation, which is sponsored by First Federal, will be $5 at the door.
The 75th Rhododendron Festival will begin May 10 and culminate with a grand parade on May 15. The theme is Diamond Celebration.
