Farewell Citrus

At the last parade in Corpus Christi

Being a part of the 2015 Texas Citrus Fiesta Royal Court was the one of the best experiences of my life. I would encourage other young ladies to be a part of such a great pageant competition. It is a great way to be a part of history. I definitely plan on keeping Texas Citrus Fiesta a tradition in my future family. I will never forget the moments I shared with my new life long friends. I will never forget the experiences I had riding the huge grapefruit float. I had the best times of my life and had so many laugh attacks with the little girls from the tangerine court, I will probably be missing them the most. It makes me so happy knowing that we are encouraging other young ladies to compete in this form of pageantry and be helping the community by doing so. Its a bittersweet feeling that someone new will be taking my place next year, but the traditions must continue. Someone new must now fulfill their duties as Princess of Orange Blossom. Forever in my heart I will be 2015 Princess of Orange Blossom. :)

Show me your shoes!

The parades consisted of hours of waiting, hunger, and mini heat strokes. Even though it sounds terrible, it actually wasn't. The parades were the funnest thing I have ever done in my life. While waiting we were all able to become friends and create a bond that will never be forgotten. It was always so fun sitting on the float and showing each other the shoes we had created. You might be asking "creating shoes". Well the answer is yes! It is a tradition in every single parade to show people our shoes. People are so curious to see what kind of shoes are worn under those big ball gowns.  The trick is to find or make the funniest shoes possible. The most common form of shoes that get the crowd going wild is when the girls wear "house shoes" also known as slippers. The crowd goes as far as holding signs that say " SHOW ME YOUR SHOES!", even the kids do it! They get so happy and excited when you show them your shoes, they cheer and clap! On the contrary the BOO you when you don't want to show your shoes! It was a great experience to feel the energy of the crowd, but it was also super fun coming up with wacky ideas for the shoes. I went as far as adding bells so that people would hear me shaking my feet :)

Huge Traveling Grapefruit

Livestock Show Parade

The huge grapefruit travels to 5 different cities with royalty aboard. The first out of city parade that we attend is the Laredo George Washington celebration parade, then we attend the Borderfest parade in Hidalgo, the livestock show parade in Mercedes, the fiesta flambeau parade in San Antonio, and last but not least the Bucaneer Parade in Corpus Christi. The parades are extremely fun. We really get to bond with the court. We have to wait for long hours in the heat, just so the parade can start. That does not include the wait time for the float to actually start moving. The average wait time aboard the float was around 5 hours. Thats right, we had to be sitting on the float with huge ball gowns for about 5 hours.  Don't think because we are royalty we are sitting on a comfy chair, on the contrary we sit on the most uncomfortable plastic step stools. Despite all the waiting, hunger, and pain we went through, the parades were an amazing experience. The bigger the city the bigger the parade. It was something I will never forget.

Citrus Float

The day had finally come where I was able to ride the Texas Citrus Fiesta float. It was a surreal experience. It was so different than last year, the people actually recognized us because of our titles this year. I got to ride in a float with my new friends. We got to lead the largest parade in the city of Mission. It is the parade that the city of Mission is known for. It was so rewarding knowing that the float I was riding in has been a tradition since 1932. It is not many girls that get the privilege of saying that they were a part of the Royal Court and got to ride the float. I felt like it was something to really be proud of. The crowds cheering for us during the parade was so exciting. They know the hard work that it takes to be on the float and they really help us feel happy about ourselves and our accomplishments. Being the lead of the parade and on the float that is recognized by the city of Mission was truly an amazing experience I will never forget.  

Princess Coronation

Being escorted by the 1994 King Citrus

Being crowned as the Princess of Orange Blossom was one of the best experiences I have ever gone through. I felt so proud of all of my accomplishments from the previous year. I was still in disbelief that I had won a title in one of the hardest pageants I had ever competed in. What made it even harder to believe was when I witnessed the new Duchess win their new titles. I saw so many amazing girls who didn't win anything, it made it even more surreal that I was one of the few who had one the previous year. It felt great to have my best friends, boyfriend, and family there to support me. The coronation made me so excited for what was to come. I would experience so many great things with the other wonderful girls. What made the coronation a great experience was making me realize that I would forever be Princess of Orange Blossom 2015. The reason for this, was because previous Queens and Princesses attend the even to show their support. It made me so proud of my title. 

Preparation as a Princess

At Duchess Orientation

Preparing to compete for Queen Citrianna was less stressful the second time. It was a very different experience though. Instead of being a Duchess, I was a Princess. I already had my title, I had already won my place into the court. Even though inside of me I really did want to win Queen, I also didn't care if I didn't. The preparation was different because I already knew what to expect. I was more of a guide to other girls and was supposed to give them advice. I was a Veteran and they were Rookies. The amazing thing about being a Princess was the fact that this year my dress was white. I had no trouble finding an already made petticoat. White heels are not hard to find at all. I also had previous material to study from. I did not feel as stressed as I had the year before. I didn't feel like I wanted to try to win Queen. I was fine with my Princess title. I also felt like I would've been too old to win the title of Queen, since I would've had to wait another year to reign. That helped with my preparation, the fact that I had already won. 

Citrus Parade as a Duchess

The last event on the calendar of the Queen Citrianna pageant is the Citrus Parade in the city of Mission. It is when the entire city of Mission is finally able to see all the girls who competed for the title of Queen Citrianna, of course even though we are winners, we are still not crowned as our new titles. We are still considered Duchesses until next years coronation. The parade was still in honor of last years winning Queen, Royal Court, Tangerine Court, and the King. The parade is extremely fun! The competition is over, and you can finally relax and have a lot of fun. It was such a relief knowing that I had won a place on the court and that next year I would have another chance to win Queen. Even if I didn't I knew it would be a great experience to be Princess of Orange Blossom. I was so excited to be able to ride in the Citrus Float in next years Citrus Parade.