ROYALTY NEEDED FOR THUNDER, PEGASUS PARADE AND MORE!

2004-09-18T15:16:54


2004 Derby Festival Queen, Maria Maldonado


The Derby Festival is seeking young women
for the 2005 Royal Court

It’s that time of year again when the Kentucky Derby Festival is looking for candidates to become Derby Festival Princesses and comprise the Royal Court for the Kentucky Derby Festival’s 50th Celebration. Applications can be found at on the Derby Festival’s website at www.derbyfestival.org.  Applications can be mailed and must be postmarked by October 25. 

This is a great opportunity for any talented young woman to become an official ambassador for one of the world’s leading civic celebrations.  The reigning 2004 Derby Festival Queen, Maria Maldonado, was named Miss Kentucky in June.  She is now representing the state in the Miss America 2004 pageant. 

Derby Festival Princess applicants must be single, female residents of Kentucky or the metropolitan area (Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties of Indiana), poised and outstanding in her community. A candidate must be a full-time student during the current academic year, attending a university, college or accredited professional school with a minimum accumulative GPA of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale. She must be 18 years old on or before Dec. 31, 2004. All applicants must attend a screening on Saturday, November 20 or 27 at The Galt House.   Call Jeanette Aboud at 895-7282 or email at jaboud157@aol.com with any questions.

The Princess selection process is a self-nominating procedure. The program represents the Kentucky Derby Festival and is overseen by members of The Fillies, Inc., a non-profit organization of 250 of the finest community volunteers. In addition to coordinating the princess program, the women produce the gala Derby Ball, during which the Derby Queen is selected and her Derby Court established. The court will be selected in December with the Queen chosen by a “spin-of-the-wheel” at the Derby Ball on April 22, 2005. Each Princess receives two $500 scholarships – one from The Fillies, Inc., and one from the Kentucky Derby Festival.  In addition to other sponsor gifts, each woman receives a complimentary wardrobe.

A long-standing Derby tradition, the Derby Festival Queen and Court of Derby Festival Princesses act as official ambassadors for one of the country’s leading civic celebrations, attending more than 70 Festival events. Since 1957, past Derby Festival Queens and Princesses have been making an impression on their community.   They include Martha Layne Collins, Kentucky’s first woman Governor, and a number of other community leaders.  Many say their Derby Festival experience helped them prepare for their future careers.

Since 1956, the Derby Festival has worked to bring the community together in celebration. The Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 325 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation.  It entertains more than 1.5 million people in a two- week period and has a local economic impact of more than $90 million.  This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.