Lombard kicks off Lilac Time with Lilac Queen coronation

Lombard crowned Alexandra Lyons as its new Lilac Queen Saturday in Lilacia Park, continuing a tradition that dates back more than 70 years.

Nancy Spartz, co-chairwoman of the Lilac Princess Program, said she grows more impressed with the princesses each year.

"They're lovely," she said of the five girls selected this year. "They're committed to their schools, their community involvement is amazing. They are so involved."

Spartz also made clear that the coronation is not a "beauty pageant." Instead, she said, the judging process for selecting the princesses and the queen is focused on the candidates' community involvement, intelligence and personality.

"We always want them to be aware of their appearance as well, so we don't disregard that - we just put that on the lower scale," she said.

For a full list of Lilac Time activities, visit lombardlilactime.com.