Barely Regal

We grill the Rose Princesses — and, yes, endorse one for queen.

Aside from performing a regular gig at Darcelle's XV, the only surefire way to get your hands on a tiara in this town has been the same for nearly a century. Get yourself crowned a Rose Festival princess, a member of a "royal" court of 14 high-school seniors who preside over Portland's annual flowerburst of parades, dragon-boat races, and herculean human traffic jams at the "Fun Center" on the waterfront.

The actual selection of the Queen of Rosaria is Saturday, June 10, at Memorial Coliseum. But still high off the envelope glue from May's mail-in election ballots, we realized we wanted to do one more set of endorsement interviews, this time with the contenders to be Queen, a yearlong gig that includes travel to events such as the Pendleton Round-Up and a lantern festival with Portland's sister city in Taiwan.

To be honest, we were a little surprised that the Rose Festival committee let WW within 200 feet of its dewy rosebuds. But they did, so three weeks ago we met and interviewed 12 of the princesses in three small groups at Rose Festival Headquarters (two were ill and could not attend). Headquarters is a fluorescent storefront located on the lower level of Lloyd Center Mall, only a softball toss away from the popular junior retailer Forever 21, its floor-to-ceiling windows filled with a massive array of summertime hootchie-in-training outfits. It's a venal reminder just how antiquated the Rose Court's fresh-faced teen image seems.

But oddly enough, image may be fact when it comes to these women. Instead of a bunch of Tiara Girls-style fembots, we met a dozen ambitious, sometimes geeky ladies who we're, gulp, proud to call our city's ambassadors (the actual titles began evolving a decade ago from "princesses" to the wimpier, more-PC "ambassadors"). Even better, we got a chance to talk to kids chosen by their fellow students about what it's really like to be a high-schooler in P-town, from dodging Army recruiters and trash-talking rival schools to teaching their elders the wonders of technology.

No, we didn't get a raw, unadulterated look at teen life from these young women who have endured a month or so of up to 12-hour days dressed in sensible, virginal matching outfits provided by local pillars such as Columbia Sportswear, Fred Meyer and Pendleton Woolen Mills. These women have been prepped and safeguarded by their royal handlers like a carton of Fabergé eggs (raising subjects like sex and drug use earned us wrath-of-God stares and cut-off interviews from these festival guardians). But one can only coach high-school seniors so much. These women were surprisingly real; so much so that, for the first time since 1998, we also endorsed one of this year's princesses as WW's official choice for the Rose Queen crown.

But before jumping ahead to find out who we picked out of this rose bouquet (it's on page 24, if you just can't wait one second longer), read these interviews and draw your own conclusions.

Interns Elianna Bar-El and Jon Weatherford contributed to this report.

ROUND ONE

Chelsea Williams, Marshall High School - Kelly Edwards, Franklin High School - Julia Mayfield, Lincoln High School - Maggi Simpkins, Grant High School

WW: Let's get this straight—are you guys princesses or ambassadors?

Julia: Little girls grow up and dream of being princesses, not ambassadors.

Fair enough. Do you princesses have plans for summer, besides, you know, representin' Portland?

Maggi: I don't know yet. I mean, we are all going to college, so we're just kinda getting ready for that.

Is it the natural next step at your schools that you'd be going to college?

JULIA: At my school, yes, it's a given that the majority will go to college.

Maggi: Mine's pretty equally split—half the kids are going to college and their parents are paying for it, and the other half are just happy that they're graduating.

Kelly: We have a mix of everything—you know, going to work, going to the military.

CHELSEA: We have recruiters all the time at my school, for the Navy and Marines.

Is the military something you'd ever consider?

Chelsea: I don't think I'm a Navy person. Princess...Navy...I don't think so.

So they send recruiters out to your high school?

Chelsea: Um, yeah. [A U.S. Army Recruiting Station at] Eastport Plaza is, like, right behind our high school. [This is the same recruiting station that sparked a national uproar earlier this month, when The Oregonian reported that its recruiters signed up 18-year-old Jared Guinther, Chelsea's Marshall High classmate, for Army duty despite the fact that he is autistic. The Army has since released Guinther from that commitment.]

Kelly: We always see them standing there in their outfits.

How much do you talk about the war at school?

Maggi: There are very few students who are really involved in social and political issues. I don't really watch the news that much. I know that sucks.

Are teens socially open-minded?

Julia: We have openly gay people at our school; some accept it, some don't.

How do you define "acceptance" of openly gay students?

Julia: Seeing them as a person, rather than their sexual orientation.

Kelly: At Franklin, we have a huge diversity, and it's really important to us to come together, looking outside of faith, and sexual orientation—and race. I think that Franklin has done a really good job of that—you know, bringing together a big melting pot.

Does that mean gay kids and black kids and Jewish kids all sit at the same table at lunch and hang out?

Kelly: You know, there are always going to be different cliques and things like that. But Franklin is actually a really friendly place compared to the high-school movies that you see where people are put into dumpsters.

[ALL IN UNISON]: I know, I know!!

Maggi: I agree. I know gay black people. I know gay white people. I know white people that hang out with black people, and I know Jewish people that hang out with black people.

OK, your schools are diverse. Do you feel like Portland is diverse?

Maggi: Compared to Oregon, Portland is very diverse. But I think Portland is still very segregated. Not necessarily purposefully, it just depends on where you are—if you stay in the Southeast Hawthorne district, you are gonna see different types of people, compared to being on Northeast Killingsworth Street.... But it is all one of the reasons that I love our court. We all grew up with such different backgrounds. But each and every one of us are able to relate to one another on different levels. I mean, we have Lincoln and Jefferson together, laughing.

You mean school rivals? Yeah, what are the stereotypical school rivalries?

Kelly: Franklin and Cleveland.

JULIA: Lincoln and Wilson...actually, Lincoln and everybody. I don't think anyone likes Lincoln.

So why is Lincoln the one that gets beat down?

Maggi: Because they are the kids who pay $60 for parking every month. We are like, "We'll show you!! In your BMWs!!" [with a mock, old-man-style fist shake]

Kelly: You like to cheer for the underdog, and they aren't the underdog.

Julia: It's unfortunate, but Lincoln has a reputation—I mean an accurate reputation—of having a lot of money.

What's Franklin's stereotype?

Kelly: Um, kinda poor. Just poor.

Grant?

Maggi: Everyone thinks that Grant kids are really bad. Partiers—kind of hardcore. Ghetto.

Has being on the court made it easier to get a date?

Kelly: I don't have a prom date—I'm going with a group of kids.

Julia: It has its perks—the guy that asked me told his grandparents, "I'm going to prom with a Rose Princess."

Do you change your behavior because you're a princess?

Maggi: [I'm] definitely being more conservative. I mean, eyes are on you all the time, and we are representing Rose Festival. My name is out there, and I am not just another teenager. So I definitely have to watch what I do, how I act and what I say.

Why should what goes on in your personal life affect anything that goes on in your public role as a Rose Festival princess? Ambassador. Whatever.

Maggi: It's important to be a good role model. I think it's one thing if you are a pop star or an athlete, you know, you are there to play sports. But as a Rose Festival representative, that is my job—to be responsible. I am not here to look cute.

So is there room for a rebel on the Rose Festival Court?

Julia: The most rebellious thing we do is not use our salad fork.

What is the biggest misconception of Rose Court?

Kelly: That we are perfect, goody-goody princesses.

Technically, according to your Rose Court bios, you are goody-goody princesses.

Julia: No, I mean we are like that, but we can be total losers with our friends and just quote movies for two hours.

Kelly: We watch Full House. I have the first season on DVD.

That is pretty rebellious.

Maggi: And Kelly also raps.

Just looking at your bios, you are all part of a lot of clubs, from adopt-a-family programs and Tahitian dance to STARS. Um, what's "STARS"?

[All in unison] Students Today Aren't Ready for Sex!

Maggi: None of us do it ["it," as in actively participate in STARS].

CHELSEA: I don't have time to do it.

Kelly: It's a program that teaches about abstinence and safe sex.

Maggi: I didn't get that information until I was, like, a sophomore in high school.

Julia: I remember a STARS mentor coming to [Lincoln]. I remember there was a really cute guy teaching it, so I definitely paid attention to it.

Do you guys really feel like "students today aren't ready to have sex"?

Maggi: Like I said, I didn't learn about sex ed until my sophomore year. And there are freshman having sex, and there are eighth-graders having sex. And, yeah, there are middle-schoolers having sex. So, if you don't learn that information 'til you are a sophomore in high school, then we're headed for trouble. If you're gonna have sex, you need to be educated.

At this point, Rose Festival coordinator Dick Andersen, an older, white-haired gent dressed in a fetching Rose Festival polo tee, lunged forward and let us know that this interview was over.

Chelsea Williams, Marshall High School

Age: 18

College: Portland State or Brigham Young University in Hawaii.

Favorite class: I love my U.S. History class because my teacher [Mr. Tom Hewitt] could possibly be the best teacher in [Portland]. He makes history fun and applicable to everyone, even the kids who don't like school.

Huge trend at school: Stunner shades.

Voted by classmates: Most Outgoing and Most School Spirit.

Nickname: "Lilo," from kids at school who think I'm the weird, loud, Hawaiian girl and "Chatchi," from my little cousin who couldn't pronounce my name when she was younger.

Most embarrassing moment, ever: Tripping up the stairs in my selection dress as we were making our way up the stage to find out who the ambassador was going to be.

School enrollment: 965

Percent nonwhite: 47

Number of ambassador applicants: 2

Kelly Edwards, Franklin High School

Age: 18

College: Warner Pacific College, to become an elementary-school teacher.

Favorite class: Women's & social issues

Huge trend: Girls and their obsession with tanning to a nice Oompa Loompa shade.

Voted: Best Personality, Best Actress.

Clubbing at school: Fellowship for Christian Athletes, AKTNOW (Active Kind Teens Nurturing Our World) program.

Chores: Cleaning the house every Saturday, which includes dusting, vacuuming and mopping the floors.

Music/Movies: I'm really into Iron & Wine and M. Ward. My favorite actor is Jake Gyllenhaal.

School enrollment: 1,404

Percent nonwhite: 35

Number of ambassador applicants: 14

Julia Mayfield, Lincoln High School

Age: 18

College: Lake Forest College, communications/broadcasting.

Voted: Best smile.

Music/Movies: I'm a big Josh Hartnett and Charlize Theron fan.

Nickname: Jules, J May, Julia Gulia, Hulia, George.

School enrollment: 1,485

Percent nonwhite: 20

Number of ambassador applicants: 25

Maggi Simpkins, Grant High School

Age: 17 (turns 18 on June 2)

College: Loyola Marymount or University of Oregon.

Huge trend: Girls wearing dresses.

Homework: Less than an hour [per night].

Car: My mom's 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier.

Music/Movies: Can't stand Paris Hilton. I really like Keyshia Cole.

Clubbing at school: Hip-hop dance team.

Scared of: Death.

School enrollment: 1,815

Percent nonwhite: 34

Number of ambassador applicants: 10

ROUND TWO

Grace Neal, Cleveland High School - Chastity Wells, St. Mary's Academy - Treauna Jackson, Jefferson High School - Anvi Bui, Benson High School - Asia Washington, Roosevelt High School

What's up with the matching clothes from sponsors? Isn't it weird to all be matching?

Asia: Well, I'm a cheerleader, and we have 17 matching outfits. You get used to it.

We talked to the other princesses about school stereotypes. What's one you'd like to kill here and now?

Treauna: Every time you hear about a shooting on the news, they somehow relate it to the Jefferson campus. It could take place on a Sunday—and even still.

So contrary to popular belief, how do you feel about your school?

Treauna: I feel so safe. I have never even seen a fight at Jefferson, the whole time I have been there.... I love Jeff. I would never change it. But...we always get looked [down] upon.

Do you think that Portland is an accepting place?

Treauna: Me, personally, I feel comfortable in any setting. Yeah, I'd like to see more minorities, but everywhere you go, there just aren't going to be people just like you. You just have to adjust.

What is a myth that we can debunk about high-school students?

Grace: Well, there is the whole "rebellious thing" that's on the news a lot [affecting a deep newscaster voice]: "Teens are going out and they're partying and da da da." Just the other night, I was complaining to my dad, [the media] keeps talking about computer stuff and MySpace and how teenagers are talking to [sexual] predators...you hear the horror stories. It's good for parents to be involved with their kids, but I think that [companies and the government] are coming up with ways for parents to spy on their kids.

Chastity: Yeah, [Grace] brings up a really good point about why there are so many misconceptions about teenagers. [It's a] communication issue. There are not a lot of people that will just sit down and talk to teenagers, and that's exactly what they need the majority of the time.

Treauna: People say teenagers are so disrespectful and they think that they know everything—and it's not that it's just that we want to let our opinion be shared, too. We respect your opinion, then respect our opinion.

Speaking of MySpace, do you feel a rift between older generations and your own because of technology?

Treauna: Yes!! It's a huge problem—because they don't get technology! My grandpa doesn't know how to change his ring tone. [the other princesses' jaws drop open in shock]

Chastity: At my school, the chalkboards are now electronic. They are called Smart Boards.

GRACE: Yeah, we have one for math, and, oh, it's so weird. My teacher will be explaining a really complex equation...something about finding the volume of the circle around the horizontal...and [the Smart Board] will 3-D, visually show you what you are trying to find and you will literally see the shape form around the y-axis.

Treauna: I imagine how it's going to be when we get older—there will be flying cars and cell phones in your fingernails.

You know, some studies suggest that high-school students are getting dumber. How informed do you feel about the world around you?

Treauna: Nowadays, awareness is optional.

GRACE: It's mostly just going out there on your own and sort of picking and choosing what you understand or what you choose to believe.

Do you trust the government?

Treauna: Well, we don't have Smart Boards [at Jefferson], so I don't know.

Have you had any contact with the government?

Anvi: Well, [Benson students] met [Gov. Ted] Kulongoski, and he is doing a Healthy Kids Plan, it's a school-based health-clinic thing. We've got people at OHSU donating their hours for certain immunizations.... It's an actual clinic [at Benson] that accommodates students.

What, like Planned Parenthood?

Anvi: Yes, they offer mentors, they promote safe sex, it's an open environment where everything is confidential.

Grace: And even just someone to talk to confidentially. Again, I think there's a kind of rift of communication...and this is a comfortable place for students to go and talk about anything—it doesn't even have to be about sex.

What, the stereotype of the sex-crazed teenager is just totally off-base now?

Treauna: Well, I just think that we are open about it.

Chastity: ...otherwise it just becomes this whole "oh no, don't talk about it" kind of thing. I mean, this is my body, I need to know about it. Know what I'm sayin'?

Grace Neal, Cleveland High School

Age: 18

College: University of Oregon.

Huge trend: Girls wearing "City Shorts" or "Bermuda Shorts."

Voted: Best Personality.

Homework: About three to four hours a night.

Car: Silver/blue 1991 Toyota Corolla. It's a stick-shift.

Most embarrassing moment, ever: When I hiccupped while saying goodbye to one of the Royal Rosarians after a nice dinner. It was really loud, too!

School enrollment: 1,449

Percent nonwhite: 21

Number of ambassador applicants: 6

Chastity Wells, St. Mary's Academy

Age: 18

College: Spelman College, business management.

Huge trend: Nalgene water bottles.

Voted: Best smile.

Car: 1995 Honda Civic.

In 10 years: I hope to be working in public relations or broadcasting.

School enrollment: 594

Percent nonwhite: 19

Number of ambassador applicants: 13

Treauna Jackson, Jefferson High School

Age: 17

College: University of Oregon, accounting.

Favorite class: Math, because the concept of math is very easy for me to learn and I love money.

Voted: I actually forgot to purchase a yearbook this year.

Car: A huge limo that costs $1.30 to get on for youth called TriMet.

Music/Movies: Destiny's Child, Vivica A. Fox, Denzel Washington.

Clubbing at school: STARS, Imminent Ladies of Virtue.

In 10 years: I hope to live in Atlanta or Los Angeles.

School enrollment: 647

Percent nonwhite: 86

Number of ambassador applicants: 6

Anvi Bui, Benson High School

Age: 18

College: Oregon State University, pre-med.

Favorite class: Health occupations.

Favorite cafeteria food: "Teriyaki Beef Bites"! I love them because they taste just like they did when I ate them in middle school. Whenever they're served in the cafeteria, you have to get in line early that day because they always sell out fast!

In 10 years: I will be at OHSU and eating nothing but cups of noodles while actively paying off my fantastically large medical-school bill while continuing to succeed in my studies. The future is bright.

School enrollment: 1,452

Percent nonwhite: 62

Number of ambassador applicants: 15

Asia Washington, Roosevelt High School

Age: 18

College: Portland State University, business.

Huge trend: Everyone is trying to be a rapper at my school.

Chores: Keep my room clean and anything else my mom tells me to do.

Clubbing at school: Optimists Club.

Music: I love R&B, and I can't stand people who can't sing but end up on TV anyway.

School enrollment: 778

Percent nonwhite: 61

Number of ambassador applicants: 4

ROUND THREE

April Cheek, Central Catholic High School - Elizabeth "Beth" Ford, Wilson High School - Alix Sandbothe, David Douglas High School

So, where are your tiaras?

April: I actually get headaches from the combs.

Alix: I have an abnormally large head and my tiara actually broke, so now it's in my car.

Hollywood always portrays high school in a certain way where the girl gets pregnant by her football boyfriend or the kid is sniffing glue between classes.... What are real problems that you see in the halls?

[nervous laughter]

Beth: I wish that people had more self-confidence and self-awareness. I mean, sure, it is completely impossible to go to a high school where people are completely happy with the way their bodies look, the way they smile...how smart they are. But I wish people would just be more confident in themselves.

So self-confidence and body issues aren't just completely inflated by the media?

Alix: It is a problem, especially when it comes to formals [a.k.a. dances]. Girls are like, "I tried on 10 dresses and they all made my butt look big."

We keep hearing that high school is a real pressure-cooker—lots of classes and homework, demanding parents. How do you deal?

Beth: All of my pressure comes from my own head. There is so much college pressure. I applied to seven schools—that was ridiculous.

April: I applied to six. And I know people who applied to 12.

Much is made of the dire straits of public schools. How do you feel about the quality of the education you're received?

Beth: I wish we had textbooks [published after] 1950.

Alix: I think my classes and teachers are great, but I just wish we had more desks. Sophomore year, I sat on the floor in the very back all year in English class.

Are you guys partiers, big drinkers?

Beth: If by party, you mean have lots of popcorn and watch She's All That...then yes.

So you can't be a partier and still be on Rose Court?

April: The people who really are the partiers aren't interested in doing it, because they think that it's a "beauty pageant" and they can't get past the stereotype, which is just terrible. Plus, I think, all of us here, we have goals.

I always thought the Rose Court was a beauty pageant.

Beth: Not at all. You are presenting yourself with your head and not your body, per se.

But you are still being judged....

Beth: ...on our moral attributes, on our poise and confidence.

Alix: It drives me nuts when people call it a beauty pageant—because it's absolutely not.

Does it help to be cute?

Beth: The girls are generally cuter nowadays—there is something in the water.

Last year, there was a teen mom [Rosa Montoya] on the Rose Court. How did you feel about that?

April: I was really proud of the Rose Festival for supporting something like that. I was proud of her for staying in school. She beat the stereotype of what you think a teen mom is.

Beth: And what you think Rose Festival is.

April Cheek, Central Catholic High School

Age: 18

College: University of La Verne in Southern California.

Voted: Most Likely to Come Back and Teach at Central.

Car: 1989 Volvo sedan...his name is Viktor Krum.

Nickname: Lirpa...my name backwards.

Clubbing at school: Future Business Leaders of America.

Scared of: Clowns and rollercoasters.

In 10 years: Hopefully, I will be teaching English to high-school sophomores. Who knows, maybe my yearbook poll will come true and I'll be teaching at Central Catholic.

School enrollment: 800

Percent nonwhite: 16

Number of ambassador applicants: At least a dozen

Elizabeth "Beth" Ford, Wilson High School

Age: 18

College: University of Missouri-Columbia, broadcast journalism.

Huge trend: Old-school headbands. I've jumped on that bandwagon.

Voted: Most Likely to Succeed; my class has it all wrong.

Saturday-night HQ: Shari's. Criss-cross French fries call my name many a weekend night.

Allowance: I used to [get] about $50 per month, but that stopped a while ago.

Music/Movies: I adore John Mayer, Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Scared of: Failure without learning from it. And raccoons.

School Enrollment: 1,632

Percent nonwhite: 17

Number of ambassador applicants: 12

Alix Sandbothe, David Douglas High School

Age: 18

College: Got accepted to University of Portland but will probably go to Portland State University ('cause it is more affordable), pre-med.

Huge trend: Guys wearing girl pants!!

Voted: In sixth grade, I was voted Most Happening Hair, Most Likely to Become a Female Model and Strongest Girl.

Saturday-night HQ: Working from 6 to 10 pm at Pizza Baron!! 122nd & Division!

Clubbing at school: "We the People" program, STARS mentor.

Scared of: The thought of losing my dad or my brother.

In 10 years: I will hopefully be done paying off my med school bills and move to a nice piece of property somewhere in a smaller town in Oregon.

School Enrollment: 2,769

Percent nonwhite: 32

Number of ambassador applicants: 34

ROUND FOUR

Jeanette Jamison, Parkrose High School - Katrina Holland, Madison High School (both were ill for the group interviews)

Jeanette Jamison, Parkrose High School

Age: 18

College: George Fox University, sociology

Favorite cafeteria food: Tossed salad with sunflower seeds and croutons. The odd-shaped teriyaki meat pieces are surprisingly good.

Huge trend: Old Navy flip-flops in different colors.

After school: I count the till in the student store. Afterwards I attend some type of club meeting or volunteer thing.

Homework: Three to six hours a night

Allowance: No, but I work at Subway. Since I work only on Saturdays, my checks are usually around $70 every two weeks.

Music/Movies: Mariah Carey (favorite singer). Angelina Jolie seems to have good morals and is not entirely superficial.

Nickname: J-Unit.

In 10 years: I want to go to the East Coast or down south to get my master's degree. I want to travel outside of Portland and see what the rest of the country is like before I decide I want to stay in Portland.

School enrollment: 1,075

Percent nonwhite: 45

Number of ambassador applicants: 6

Katrina Holland, Madison High School

Age: 18

College: PSU then Sarah Lawrence, music and English/business.

After school: Go to my church and hang out with the folks in the youth offices.

Huge trend: Signature purses.

Saturday night HQ: Out eating, or riding in a car figuring out where to go (normally downtown).

Clubbing at school: Stand for Children, the Oregon Bus Project.

Music/Movies: My favorite actress is Halle Berry (disregarding all the nasty roles she plays).

In 10 years: Doing some real estate. If not in Portland, then I'll be in New York acting and singing.

School enrollment: 983

Percent nonwhite: 53

Number of ambassador applicants: 13

WW's 2006 Rose Queen Endorsement

After carefully considering the Rose Court's bios, speeches and face-to-face interviews, we came to one conclusion: We feel like total underachievers here at WW.

At an age when we were concerned with learning how to properly shotgun Milwaukee's Best Ice, these women are padding their résumés with everything from volunteer stints at the Red Cross to lobbying for education reform. Benson princess Anvi Bui even developed her own self-defense education program called Damsels in Defense. We were impressed with Cleveland princess Grace Neal's eloquence, charmed by Jefferson princess Treauna Jackson's no-nonsense attitude and impressed with Alix Sandbothe's ability to stand out from David Douglas' crowd (she volunteers at Habitat for Humanity and shoots at the Portland Gun Club?).

But though Rose Festival judges look for civic involvement and scholastic achievement, WW had other, equally important qualities in mind: namely candor and self-reliance. In the speech that led Grant to crown her ambassador, Maggi Simpkins wrote that she "didn't have the qualifications to be a Rose Festival princess." She didn't play three varsity sports, participate in a "million extracurricular activities" or volunteer at soup kitchens. What she did do, as the daughter of a divorced, single mom looking to make ends meet, was work after school and weekends for most of her high-school career. This buyer at a local resale clothing store, hip-hop dance team member and basketball player who's making her own prom dress (turquoise taffeta) wrote: "I know where I'm going, and I know what I want—and you better believe I plan on getting it." Ballsy yet respectful, from admitting that it "sucks" that she doesn't follow current events to railing about why kids need better sex education, Simpkins impressed us with her sheer honesty. Many of these lovely women are already media sound bites waiting to happen. But Simpkins' energy was a direct, live feed. We can't help thinking that might be what the Rose Fest needs to juice up its image. We're endorsing Simpkins because she has the audacity not to act like a princess—she acts like her own woman.

A TRIP THROUGH THE ROSE GARDEN

1907: History tells us that it all began when civic leader E.W. Rowe developed the original idea of a Rose Festival, though Portland Mayor Harry Lane is also remembered for expressing a need for a festival of roses after the town's successful Lewis & Clark Exhibition in 1905.

1918: The parade is canceled because of World War I. It is canceled two other times. In 1926 there was no Festival at all due to the rebuilding of Multnomah Stadium, where the parade was staged. And in 1942, World War II led to the parade's cancellation and required other events to be held indoors because of fears that large crowds would attract enemy attack.

1930: The requirement is installed that the Queen be a Portland high-school senior, selected from the Rose Festival Court. The Court now consists of women selected from 14 Portland-area high schools by their respective student bodies.

1967: The first Latina, Anna Maria Enriquez (Jefferson High), is crowned Queen.

1970: The first Asian-American, Laurie King (Wilson High), is crowned Queen.

1980: The first African-American, Robin Marks (Lincoln High), is crowned Queen.

1997: The pretty princesses were officially renamed as 'court members,' which eventually evolved into what is now 'ambassador' in an attempt to de-emphasize the pageantry/royalty aspects of the court.

As the kick off to the Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade, Portland will crown 2006's Queen of Rosaria from the ranks of the Rose Court's 14 ambassadors/princesses on Saturday, June 10, at the Memorial Coliseum, 1401 N Wheeler Ave. 8:30 am. $22. $11 students. To read more about festival events and these women, including the essays they submitted during the Rose Court application process, visit www.rosefestival.org.

Ambassadors earn their $3,500 Rose Court college scholarships by visiting local senior centers and networking with local business leaders—ostensibly wafting bloom-scented cheer in their wake.

Nepotism ruled the Rose Fest when it began in 1907. The first Rose Queen was the governor's own daughter, Carrie Lee Chamberlain.

1980 Junior Rose Festival Queen "Ruth E" is now a retired stripper and the director of Not Even Ashamed, a documentary about the exotic dance industry.

The Rose Festival Court Judging Criteria are based 50 percent on character (school activities, citizenship as a member of the community, civic involvement); 25 percent on communication (presentation, speech content); and 25 percent on presence (appropriate grooming, composure, enthusiasm and sincerity).

WWeek 2015

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