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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