Friday, June 5, 2009

isn't she lovely?


Portland Rose Festival's 2008 Queen Marshawna R. Williams (of Cleveland high school) was crowned at the Memorial Coliseum the morning of Saturday, June 7 (2008) at 9:15 a.m. surrounded by family and friends. Following the ceremony Queen Marshawna climbed up to the highest tier of the Rose Festival Court float to lead off the KeyBank Grand Floral Parade. Marshawna R. Williams is the sister of Shaela and Ashlee, and daughter of Mark and Elizabeth Williams. She plans to attend the University of Portland and earn a Bachelors degree in Engineering. While in school she hopes to intern for the architectural firm ZGF. Marshawna was Co-President of the Black Student Union, was Student Body Vice President, and an active member of the National Honors Society. She Co-Captained the PDX U-18 Volleyball Club, volunteered through the Sierra Services Program (SSP) and is active in church youth groups. She even volunteered on Indian reservation during the summer of 2007 for a week. Her hobbies include singing, writing, poetry and babysitting neighborhood kids.

Mike and I will be in Portland for the 2009 Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade on Saturday morning. Night owl that I am, this will be a quick post so I can go to bed lots earlier than usual.

The 2009 Rose Festival Queen will be crowned inside the Memorial Coliseum about an hour prior to the parade. Check out photos and bios of each of the 2009 court princesses and see if you can select the winner. These young women are high school seniors selected by their individual schools to represent them for the annual, beloved event.

More information from the Rose Festival website:
The Rose Festival Queen is chosen from all of the Court members and is crowned at the Queen's Coronation presented by Pacific Power. The Queen represents Portland and the Rose Festival for one year at appearances throughout the country and abroad. When choosing a Queen, judges consider each Court member's leadership and scholastic achievement, school activities, civic involvement, volunteer projects, communication skills, and overall impression.

You can read more about the Portland Rose Festival here. The Grand Floral Parade is broadcast in some areas around the country, so check your listings to see if it's shown in your area. I'll wave from the bleachers set up outside the Memorial Coliseum right at the beginning of the parade. This is Mike's year to select the spot where we view the parade. In his case the selection is an actual paid seating venue. My preference has always been downtown, on the sidewalk, along the parade route. This will be a first for us and if I get any good photos I'll share and let you know what it was like watching a parade from the stands!

As far as choosing the 2009 Rose Queen from this year's court, I wouldn't even want to try. They all seem like amazing girls. I hope the sun shines on their parade.


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7 comments:

deus ex machina said...

wow, this is fun. . .

discoveranand said...

Hello Lydia. The scrip you couldn't read was sanskrit-the ancient indian language and the text means the kingdom of shivaji who is son of shahaji is for the people by the order of almighty and it is ever-increasing. 6th of june is a very special day because shivaji was crowned on the same day in 1674 a.d. The page on wkikpedia will tell a little about this king.

Darlene said...

I am glad I am not a judge. These young women are all so lovely and talented. Since my opinion doesn't count I will say that I liked Rachel Seeman because she shares the first name with my granddaughter and Linda Nyugen shares the first name with my step-daughter (who has changed the name to Lynne).

Since names are not a requisite for choosing, I will add that I really thought both young women were very beautiful and had great bios.

I wish I could be there for the festival. Roses are my favorite flower and I love festivals.

Unknown said...

Hiya

Nice post
I always love the way you make me feel so at home
And so informed at the same time

It is not roses, but tulips we choose to celebrate here
There is a strong Dutch influence on our local history

My favorite part of this celebration is the traditional sweeping of the streets
Local women & men dress in era appropriate attire and sweep the streets clean before the festival can begin...

JP said...

This is my first visit here to your page. All I want to say is, you got nice blog...keep going.

francessa said...

Hi Lydia,

you'll sure have lots of fun!
I hope we'll be getting some lovely photos! :-)

Lydia said...

@deus ex machina- Hey, maybe you can visit during Rose Festival some year!

@discoveranand- It was good to learn about June 6 being such an important day for you, as I read comments early in the day and thought of this several times as June 6 proceeded. :)

@Darlene- Please don't miss following post, more or less dedicated to your keen perception in selecting this year's Queen of Rosaria! Thanks for taking part in the festival, though miles away.

@Citizen of Earth- Wow, your festival sounds charming and rooted in history. My maternal grandfather's forebears were Dutch, some settling in NY, others in MO. Van Swearingen. Click your wooden shoes for me. :)

@Jarlin- It's so great to have a new visitor who seems to have enjoyed the blog. Please return anytime!

@Francessa- Several times throughout the parade Mike or I would recall what you asked me last summer when I wrote to you about our own small town festival. You asked, "What does one do at a parade?" and it was the first I realized that they don't take place in all countries. Maybe I got some good photos to post...hope so anyway. :)

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