Nine competing for 2020 Rose Queen title in Roselle
During her freshman year at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Sarah Abraham made several trips home to carry out her "royal" duties as Roselle's Rose Queen.
Abraham won the honor last March and will crown the 2020 Rose Queen Friday, Feb. 7, at the annual Rose Queen Scholarship event in the Lake Park High School West Campus auditorium in Roselle.
As Queen, Abraham participated in Roselle's Cocoa Crawl in November, greeting Santa and holiday revelers at the library. She also participated in a craft-making session with children at the library and, in June, reigned over the village's 60th Annual Rose Parade.
"That was the most fun, seeing all my friends watching me on the float," the Bloomingdale resident said.
Abraham was awarded a $2,500 college scholarship as Rose Queen and also received an additional $500 scholarship in recognition of her high school academic performance.
This year, the Rose Queen will receive a $2,500 scholarship, while the first runner-up will get a $1,250 award and the second runner-up will receive $500, said Katie Petrucci, event organizer. Academic scholarship awards will include $500 for the top finisher and $250 each for the first and second runners-up.
The 61st Annual Rose Queen Scholarship event will feature nine contestants in a competition open to female high school students who live in Roselle or attend Lake Park High School.
This year, eight of the contestants are Lake Park students and one is a Roselle resident who attends a private school, Petrucci said. Petrucci and two fellow Itasca teachers, Pamela Mitchell and Amy Reuter, are members of the volunteer Rose Queen Committee that presents the event.
This year's competition features Rinna Talwar, Rachel Abraham, Paulina Czupryna, Kassandra Huerta, Julia Burke, Gracie Kassanits, Emily Martyka, Danielle Horner and Yazmine Armas.
Friday night's program begins with "Community Connection," in which the queen candidates tell what connects them to Roselle, Petrucci said.
Next up is the talent competition, which usually features a goodly amount of music.
The 2020 edition will include singing and dancing performances, piano and ukulele playing and a pie-making demonstration.
"Then we do our formalwear and the girls will have an escort with them. That can be a friend or relative," Petrucci said.
Competitors are next asked an onstage question that Petrucci said is designed to bring out their creativity and test their ability to think quickly.
"They usually have very thoughtful answers," she said. "It's to see how they can handle something under a little bit of pressure."
Competitors were chosen after a preliminary contest that involved writing an essay and having an eight-minute in-person interview with the three-judge panel, she said.
Scholarships are funded by ticket sales to the event, a contribution from the village and sponsorships from local businesses, she said
Abraham, who is no relation to two previous Rose Queens with the same surname, said she has some advice for the next contest winner.
"I would say enjoy every moment. The truth is, it went by so fast," Abraham said. "This is the only year you're going to have this, so make the most of it."
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61st Annual Rose Queen Scholarship event
When: 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7
Where: Lake Park High School West Campus Auditorium, 500 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Roselle
Tickets: $5
Info: roselle.il.us