A chain of linked hands, a roaring crowd, and a scholarship on the line — all the training and hard work came down to this moment.

Wenatchee High School senior Roslyn Thompson was crowned the 2014 Apple Blossom queen, and seniors Nikara Morgan and Caroline Dahl were named Apple Blossom princesses at the 95th Annual Royalty Selection Pageant on Feb. 8 in the WHS auditorium.

“I feel like I can’t breathe,” Thompson said at the reception after the pageant. “It’s a dream, and my heart needs to start beating again or else I might pass out.”

Thompson earned a $6,000 scholarship, and Morgan and Dahl have each earned a $3,500 scholarship.

“I’m just in shock right now,” Morgan said. “I’m so excited for the festival, for this upcoming couple months, and I’m just so looking forward to doing it with Roslyn and Caroline. The scariest part [of the pageant] was doing the speech, I was really nervous but it all came together and worked out so I’m really happy.”

At the pageant, the emcees made a surprising announcement. Contrary to past years, each of the remaining seven candidates would receive a scholarship of $1,000 instead of $750. This was due to a donation from the Floor Factory.

“It [becoming an Apple Blossom princess] feels unreal,” Dahl said. “I’m so amazed I can’t even believe this is happening… It’s crazy. I’m looking forward to representing the valley and being in the parade and just everything that comes with this, I’m so excited.”

Four other $1,000 scholarships were available to any of the Top 10 candidates, including those chosen for royalty. Those include Congeniality, won by Eastmont High School senior Madison Ransford; Most Original Speech, won by senior Lupe Martinez; Achievement, awarded to EHS senior Olivia Janney; and Community Involvement, which was given to Thompson. Dahl also won the Most Photogenic award, which included a $500 gift card to Elements Salon and a $500 photo session from Parson’s Photography.

As winners of those additional awards, Ransford, Martinez, and Janney will have the opportunity to represent the royalty at an out-of-town parade during the summer.

“Sometimes parades that are scheduled fall on the same weekend,” Festival Administrator Darci Waterman said. “So we’ll have the royalty go to one parade, and then we’ll have an award-winner go to the other.”

The Top 10 candidates went through a lot of training to prepare for the big day.

“We have many volunteers that dedicate their time to help them [the candidates],” Waterman said, “with their makeup sessions, their speech lessons, etiquette for walking, talking, eating, just anything and everything to prep them for the pageant.”

Waterman said the first thing the royalty will be doing is getting their wardrobe together for the year. The ladies will be wearing matching outfits and taking photos which will be put up in businesses throughout the community. Waterman also said many of the girls’ outfits are donated by the local businesses. That particular tradition has been around for 70 years.

“I think it [Apple Blossom] has given me a whole new level of responsibility,” Morgan said. “I’m not just a role model for my family and the people that I know, but for the community, and I think that is going to be a great experience for me.”

The Royalty will be making approximately 180 appearances over the next few months: These include luncheons, community events, parades, etc. Waterman said they will be making visits to nursing homes, elementary schools, service clubs,  and the capitol in Olympia.

Those visits will be between March and Wenatchee’s festival, starting in late April. After that festival is over, the ladies will travel to 14 other festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest.

“Riding in the Apple Blossom Parade I think is going to be so much fun, and I’m excited for it,” Thompson said. “I’ve met amazing girls that I know I’m going to be friends with forever, and I’m so excited to see how those relationships blossom over the next year.”