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Junior Royalty Crowned

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By CHERYL KUCK, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 23, 2008

PLANT CITY - The Florida Strawberry Festival's pageant season is under way.

Members of the Junior Royalty were crowned Jan. 12, including baroness, duchess, princess and queen, in front of a crowd at Tomlin Middle School.

Pageant chairwoman Donna Keel said the event is always upbeat.

"Pageants can have a dark side if allowed, but here we focus on girls gaining self-confidence in front of a crowd and building self-esteem, much like Little League competition," Keel said.

Keel talks from experience. She was Junior Royalty duchess in 1976. After working on the Florida Strawberry Festival queen committee for eight years and as a co-chairwoman for three years, she became chairwoman of the Junior Royalty pageant in 1995.

Keel and co-chairwoman Krystal Almon have been guiding the pageant for more than a decade.

The Junior Royalty pageant is for Plant City area girls ages 5 to 15.

"None of the parents are pushing their children to compete," Keel said. "These girls are natural achievers. Most are honor students who participate in a variety of other things like music, dancing, sports. No one needs to motivate them."

Contestants are chosen in a drawing. The next step is a workshop, where the girls are taught routines and how to gracefully present themselves to the public.

A rehearsal helps the contestants with speaking into a microphone and other skills.

On pageant night, each contestant has an opportunity to tell the audience something about herself.

This year it was based on the 2008 Florida Strawberry Festival's theme of Lights, Camera, Action.

The contestants were asked to describe what a movie starring them would be about. Contestants told about favorite activities and community service involvement, with quite a few jokes about the challenges of having brothers.

A winner, first maid and court members are chosen in each of four age divisions: Baroness (5- to 6-year-olds), duchess (7- to 9-year-olds), princess (10- to 12-year-olds) and queen (13- to 15-year-olds).

Strawberry festival General Manager Patsy Brooks, who has been involved in the festival for 32 years, said she is impressed with the pageant.

"I think it's a very well-run contest. The girls that run it have been working on this for years. The festival committee and volunteers, up to the strawberry queen, are always willing to help parents and contestants," Brooks said.

Some Junior Royalty contestants, when they get old enough, compete in the Florida Strawberry Festival queen pageant, which is for ages 16 to 20. This year's strawberry festival queen pageant is Feb. 2.

2008 JUNIOR ROYALTY AND COURT MEMBERS
BARONESS: KellieAnn Kirkland, First Maid Madisyn Tosca and court members Sierra Diers, Kellie Murrell and Sydney Stine

DUCHESS: Selena Berrios, First Maid Faith Nagy and court members Arden White, Cassidy English and Kaylee Stallard

PRINCESS: Mylie Feaster, First Maid Chelsea Talavera and court members Kelsie Creamer, Madison Bradshaw and Samantha Black

QUEEN: Celeste Lewis, First Maid Olivia Higgins and court members Jordan Williams, Kathleen Henke and Traci Wetherington

Cheryl Kuck can be reached at wkuck@tampabay.rr.com.

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