Since 1932 the Texas Citrus Fiesta has been a tradition in the city of Mission. The first fiesta was seen as a way to showcase the bountiful winter harvest. The first ever theme of the fiesta was "coronation and pageant of citrus". John H. Shary, who is considered the father of the Texas citrus industry served as the king of the first Texas Citrus Fiesta. It started with a half-hour concert and ended with the coronation of King Citrus (John H. Shary) and Queen Citrianna. This became a tradition of "royalty", with a citrus industry leader chosen as King and a Queen chosen from Rio Grande Valley "Duchesses", each representing a community and its product or industry. The fiesta has taken place every year with the exception of 1933, since there was a lot of damage done by a hurricane. There was also no fiesta in times of World War 2. To this day there is still a different industry leader chosen as king. A great amount of ladies between the ages of 16-19 from all over the Rio Grande Valley compete to win the title of Queen Citrianna or a member of the royal court. The royal court is made up of:The king, Queen Citrianna, Princess of Grapefruit Blossom, Princess of Orange Blossom, and Lady in Waiting. There is also a tangerine court which is specifically little girls of the age of 6, they compete for the title of Princess Ana or to become a member of the tangerine court. The tangerine court consists of: Princess Ana, Princess of Lemon, Princess of Lime, Princess of Orange, and Princess of Grapefruit.
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