Tonight’s the night. A Rose Queen will be crowned, and with it the Tournament of Roses will have its full trifecta of ceremonial ambassadors and presiders over the big New Year’s celebration: A grand marshal (Gabby Giffords), its Rose Court, and its queen.
But that third step — the coronation of the queen — will be yet another big moment, steeped in tradition, and it is a hard one to miss.
And it happens tonight — Tuesday, Oct. 25.
It’s been a journey for the seven princesses in the Royal Court who have come this far, their group narrowed from 28 finalists out of more than 300 hopefuls from 33 Pasadena-area schools.
Here are the royal seven: Salia Baligh of Pasadena, a senior at the all-girls Alverno Heights Academy; Bella Ballard of Altadena, a senior at The Ogburn School; Michelle Cortez-Peralta of Pasadena, a senior at Pasadena High School; Adrian Crick of Altadena, a senior at Sequoyah School; Zoe Denoncourt of Pasadena, a senior at Marshall Fundamental; Sahanna Rajinikanthan of Arcadia, a senior at Arcadia High School; and Uma Wittenberg of La Cañada Flintridge, a senior at La Cañada High School.
For weeks, they’ve all worked hard in interviews, where judges have assesses their Rose-royal qualities, including public speaking ability, youth leadership, academic achievement, and community and school involvement.
They will serve as ambassadors in the run-up to Jan. 2 — and, of course, on Jan. 2 as the parade and the game unfold.
By the way, just so you know, while we use the term “Rose Queen” in everyday Rose-Parade-speak, technically she’s the Queen of the Tournament of Roses. And whoever that is tonight will become the 104th to wear that crown.
Thankfully, while a century ago, they didn’t have YouTube, now we do. So you can watch the coronation live at 6 p.m. Pacific time for all the festivities.
The countdown starts now.
