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Eight teens compete for top Pear Blossom crown By Nick Morgan Updated: Mar 02, 2022 01:53 PM A A From top left to right: High school seniors Chloe Acosta of Butte Falls High School, Ruby Cabrera of South Medford High School, Sophia Edwards of Logos Public Charter School, Madelyn Mayer of Phoenix High School, Anna Meek of Crater Lake Academy, Jordan Sandler of North Medford High School, Cara Stanek of Eagle Point High School and Tiana Williams of Cascade Christian High School will each vie for the title of 2022 Pear Blossom Queen. Eight Jackson County high school seniors have each won $750 scholarships after being named Pear Blossom Princesses, but only one will earn their place reigning over Medford’s parade. Chloe Acosta of Butte Falls High, Ruby Cabrera of South Medford High School, Sophia Edwards of Logos Public Charter School, Madelyn Mayer of Phoenix High School, Anna Meek of Crater Lake Academy, Jordan Sandler of North Medford High School, Cara Stanek of Eagle Point High School and Tiana Williams of Cascade Christian High School will each vie for the title of Pear Blossom Queen at the festival’s 32nd annual Scholarship Competition, to be held at 7 p.m. March 26 at Cascade Christian High School, 655 Chevy Way, Medford. The competition will judge the young women on their school leadership skills, their academic achievements, their community involvement and on their ability to think on their feet, according to emails from Pear Blossom Festival President and pageant director Darcey Mann-Self. The competition involves an essay, interviews with judges along with impromptu questions on stage. Self said in an email that they’re looking for “active, involved and intelligent” young women who are “well-rounded individuals, serious about their education and concerned about the well-being of their community.” The young women named as finalists were selected out of more than 50 applicants. School activities directors hand out applications to interested senior girls, and each school works with the Senior Royalty Committee to choose five students, then narrow it to a single princess per school. Each princess has a grade point average of at least 3.5, and contestants participate in classes for speech presence, presentation, manners, interviews and stage presence. “We aren’t just preparing them for the competition, we are preparing them for life ahead,” Mann-Self said in an email, later adding, “We strive to give them the confidence needed to talk to a roomful of people and enjoy it and feel comfortable and at ease doing it.” The winner crowned queen will receive another $2,750 scholarship sponsored by Kogap Enterprises, plus the royal treatment at the Pear Blossom Parade occurring April 10 in downtown Medford. Mann-Self co-created the pageant with Val James and the late Patti Bills to “add a new dimension to the Pear Blossom Festival, and to add a scholarship opportunity,” according the release. Since 1991, more than 250 women have received more than $200,000 in scholarships. The festival’s roots go back to April 1954, when a former resident named Barbara Roddy was inspired by a similar Apple Blossom Festival in Wenatchee, Washington, and encouraged the local Chamber of Commerce, the Fruit Growers League and other Rogue Valley community groups to put together a similar festival and parade. The 2022 festival parade is expected to include more than 150 entrants, 5,000 participants and as many as 25,000 spectators. Reach web editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.