Hearts pounding, palms sweating, strutting across the stage, heels clicking, 35 girls and only 10 roses. Five Wenatchee High School girls, four Eastmont High School girls, and one River Academy student moved on to become the Top 10 candidates for the 2014 Apple Blossom Royalty Pageant during a ceremony at the Performing Arts Center on Jan. 8.  The ladies will now begin preparation for the final pageant on Feb. 8. at 7 p.m. in the Wenatchee High School auditorium.

Tickets are on sale at the festival office, $18 for lower level seats and $15 for upper level seats.

Seniors Lupe Martinez, Roslyn Thompson, Caroline Dahl, Gabe Mercer, and Nikara Morgan were the candidates chosen from WHS,  seniors Katie Hoag, Amber Frodsham, Olivia Janney,  and Madison Ransford were chosen from EHS, and Emily Millard will represent The River Academy.

“Backstage all the girls were in a big circle, and we were all holding hands,” Thompson said. “They started calling names, and I was the second name to get called, so I didn’t even have time to get super nervous. I had been nervous all day, and I almost started crying — I was just so shocked. I still can’t believe I actually made the Top 10.”

The girls were chosen out of 35 candidates who decided to run for the Apple Blossom royalty through a voting process which was made up of 50 percent student votes and 50 percent judge scores (a rating from one to 10 for each candidate).

“I thought I wasn’t going to be nervous, but then I was standing back there, and they called the first person’s name and my heart was beating really fast,” Dahl said. “Then they called my name, and I was really surprised because I wasn’t expecting it, and I was really happy.”

The girls had their first meeting in early December where they were given their speech topic, “The word that best describes me,” and about a month to prepare for the speeches they gave in front of their fellow students on Jan. 8. The initial 35 candidates also had to meet a few times to bond, learn how to walk properly, and practice their speeches together.

“I kind of have a fear of public speaking, but it’s getting better,” Dahl said. “It’s rewarding to know that I’m able to speak in front of my school, and I can do things that I didn’t think that I could before.”

Festival Administrator Darci Waterman said that between now and then the candidates will be taking etiquette classes, doing interviews, and undergoing other types of training to get ready for the pageant.

“I love watching these girls become amazing young ladies,” Waterman said. “We want to have our girls at the same level as an athlete or a scholar within the school districts.”

On the morning of the pageant, each girl will meet with the panel of judges for about 10 minutes to answer a series of current affairs questions. Later that afternoon, the candidates will have to meet with each judge individually to answer questions which are geared more toward their personalities. Each of the interview sessions counts for 22.5 percent of the final pageant score (collectively 45 percent). The scores that the girls will get from the pageant itself (based on the girls’ poise, how they present themselves, and how well they answer the impromptu questions) will count for 50 percent of the final tally. The community votes will count for five percent.

“I want to be an example for all those girls out there that are too shy to go for what they want,” Martinez said. “I want to be their encouragement in a way. I am really looking forward to getting to know more of the community. I feel that by being involved, I am going to get to know more about Wenatchee and its wonderful people.”

The Apple Blossom Queen will receive a $6,000 scholarship. The two princesses will each receive a $3,500 scholarship, and the remaining seven girls will receive a $750 scholarship. Four additional $1,000 scholarships will be awarded for Community Service, Congeniality, Achievement and Most Original Speech.
“These young women are with elementary school kids, they’re with junior high kids, they’re with the elderly, so they do need to be role models and excel in that area,” Waterman said. “We want them to be prideful of not only their community, but also of their school.”