Royalty candidates prepare for Strawberry Festival pageant
Published on Wed, Mar 10, 2010 by Beckye RandallRead More Communities
One of the highlights associated with Marysville's Strawberry Festival is the April Freisner Memorial Scholarship Pageant, in which juniors and seniors in the Marysville and Lakewood school districts compete for the honor of being named festival royalty. This year's event, set for Saturday, March 20, begins at 7 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck High School's auditorium.
Nine young ladies will deliver speeches, demonstrate their unique talent and entertain the community during the pageant. Judges' results at the event will be combined with earlier scoring by the Maryfest Board of Directors to determine the festival's queen and two princesses.
In addition to the high school candidates, 14 middle schoolers are seeking one of three positions as Junior Royalty for the festival. All applicants will be introduced at the pageant, with the top six slated to present speeches for the judges.
Most of the candidates were on hand for interviews at the Maryfest office on Wednesday, March 3. Due to a death in the family, senior royalty contestant Mackenzie Harrell was unavailable for an interview or the photo session, but she will be participating in the pageant March 20. Mackenzie is a 17-year-old junior at Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy High School.
Other candidates are Aida Cardona, Emily Hipp, Kimberlee Kipperberg, Christina Murphy, Haley Otto, Lauren Stallcup, Ella Stefoglo and Kaija Wilcox. All the girls expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to be involved in the community festival, representing their city and making great friends in the process. An equally important component of the competition was the opportunity to gain self-confidence and become more comfortable speaking in public.
Aida Cardona, a 17-year-old senior at M-PHS in the Pathways of Choice school, is also a Running Start student at Everett Community College. In addition to maintaining a 3.86 GPA, Aida enjoys playing and coaching volleyball. She plans to attend Skagit Valley College on a volleyball scholarship, with an eventual transfer to UW to focus on computational mathematics. Aida was recently selected as Miss Filipino American Association of North Puget Sound and will perform a Filipino folk dance for her talent presentation at the pageant. Aida is the daughter of Willie and Jocelyn Cardona of Marysville, and the youngest of two girls in the family.
At 16 years of age, Emily Hipp is one of the younger festival contestants. She is a junior at M-PHS in the International School of Communications and also attends EvCC for Running Start classes. A music lover, Emily is vice-president of the choir club and student conductor at ISC, as well as a worship leader at her church group where she sings and plays piano. She will play the piano at the pageant for the talent competition. After she receives her AA degree from EvCC, Emily plans to transfer to the UW to study law, with the eventual goal of becoming a prosecuting attorney. Emily lives with her mother and stepdad, Kristi and R.J. Whitlow, along with an older brother and younger sister.
Kimee Kipperberg attends Pathways of Choice at M-PHS, where she is a junior. She is vice-president of her class and is involved in leadership activities with ASB, but her passion is dancing. Only 17 years old, Kimee has been dancing for 15 years. She currently takes lessons at Marysville Performing Arts Centre, where she spends an average of 10 hours each week practicing. The audience at the scholarship pageant will be treated to a dance number by Kimee for her talent offering. A self-confessed "mom's girl," Kimee plans to attend a local college, either UW or Western Washington University, after completion of classes at EvCC. Kimberlee is the daughter of Dan and Jan Kipperberg, and has two older sisters and a younger brother.
A senior at Marysville Mountain View High School, 17-year-old Christina Murphy likes writing, music and other creative pursuits. Her goals include attending Cornish College for the Arts to study music, and maybe auditioning for "American Idol." She is a member of the youth group at St. Mary's Catholic Church, and enjoys volunteering in the community. Christina describes herself as a "goofy person," admitting that one of her favorite activities is playing football just for fun. She will perform the song "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles for the talent competition. Christina is the daughter of Chuck and Mila Murphy, and she has an older brother.
Haley Otto is a junior at M-PHS in the Bio-Med Academy who also takes Running Start classes at EvCC. Her course load and a part-time job at Party City precludes Haley from participating in many school activities or sports, and she misses the fun of playing tennis and softball. Shelby Hintze, last year's Strawberry Festival queen, encouraged Haley to try out for a festival royalty spot, and Haley is excited about exploring new opportunities and expanding her horizons. The 17-year-old plans to study journalism and public speaking in college. For her talent presentation, Haley will sing and play the ukulele in a rendition of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Haley's parents are John Otto (wife Toni) and Ursula Spidell (husband Don), and she has three sisters and a brother.
16-year-old Lauren Stallcup, a junior at M-PHS' School of the Entrepreneur, uses her spelling and grammar skills as editor of the school newspaper. She is also an endurance athlete who competes in marathons and other events for charities like the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society and March of Dimes. She plans to compete in the Seattle Triathlon this summer, but admits she doesn't know how to swim yet. Lauren has been dancing since 6th grade and currently takes classes at NW Dance Acro in Arlington. Her favorite style of dance is ballet. The daughter of Lane and Maria Stallcup, Lauren has an older brother and younger sister.
Ella Stefoglo is a gregarious 18-year-old senior at Lakewood High School and a Running Start student at EvCC. Her passion is working with people to make a difference in their lives, but she also has an affinity for math and spatial relationships. As a hobby, she enjoys cooking and gardening. Ella speaks four languages, including her native Ukrainian along with Russian, Spanish and English. She plans to attend a local Christian-based college after graduation but has yet to determine her chosen career path. Ella works at the Adidas Store at Seattle Premium Outlets and still finds time to volunteer in the schools and at Providence Hospital. For her talent presentation, she will perform an original "Gypsy Spanish" dance. Ella is the oldest of four children and the daughter of Nataliya and Aleksandr Stefoglo.
Like many of the other girls in the festival competition, 18-year-old Kaija Wilcox is a Running Start student who is concurrently a senior at M-PHS in the International School of Communications. A 3.9 student, she has already been accepted at the University of Washington, and plans to study music education. Kaija has participated in choir since third grade, and during her high school career she was selected for the All-State Choir and the prestigious All-Northwest Choir. She also participates in the school's Color Guard. Kaija will perform an Italian song during the pageant's talent competition. The daughter of Wayne and Janet Wilcox, Kaija has five older siblings.
Don't miss your opportunity to meet these outstanding young women, along with the Junior Royalty candidates, during the Strawberry Festival Pageant March 20. Tickets to the event are $10, or $5 for students at the door with a valid ASB card.
Nine young ladies will deliver speeches, demonstrate their unique talent and entertain the community during the pageant. Judges' results at the event will be combined with earlier scoring by the Maryfest Board of Directors to determine the festival's queen and two princesses.
In addition to the high school candidates, 14 middle schoolers are seeking one of three positions as Junior Royalty for the festival. All applicants will be introduced at the pageant, with the top six slated to present speeches for the judges.
Most of the candidates were on hand for interviews at the Maryfest office on Wednesday, March 3. Due to a death in the family, senior royalty contestant Mackenzie Harrell was unavailable for an interview or the photo session, but she will be participating in the pageant March 20. Mackenzie is a 17-year-old junior at Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy High School.
Other candidates are Aida Cardona, Emily Hipp, Kimberlee Kipperberg, Christina Murphy, Haley Otto, Lauren Stallcup, Ella Stefoglo and Kaija Wilcox. All the girls expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to be involved in the community festival, representing their city and making great friends in the process. An equally important component of the competition was the opportunity to gain self-confidence and become more comfortable speaking in public.
Aida Cardona, a 17-year-old senior at M-PHS in the Pathways of Choice school, is also a Running Start student at Everett Community College. In addition to maintaining a 3.86 GPA, Aida enjoys playing and coaching volleyball. She plans to attend Skagit Valley College on a volleyball scholarship, with an eventual transfer to UW to focus on computational mathematics. Aida was recently selected as Miss Filipino American Association of North Puget Sound and will perform a Filipino folk dance for her talent presentation at the pageant. Aida is the daughter of Willie and Jocelyn Cardona of Marysville, and the youngest of two girls in the family.
At 16 years of age, Emily Hipp is one of the younger festival contestants. She is a junior at M-PHS in the International School of Communications and also attends EvCC for Running Start classes. A music lover, Emily is vice-president of the choir club and student conductor at ISC, as well as a worship leader at her church group where she sings and plays piano. She will play the piano at the pageant for the talent competition. After she receives her AA degree from EvCC, Emily plans to transfer to the UW to study law, with the eventual goal of becoming a prosecuting attorney. Emily lives with her mother and stepdad, Kristi and R.J. Whitlow, along with an older brother and younger sister.
Kimee Kipperberg attends Pathways of Choice at M-PHS, where she is a junior. She is vice-president of her class and is involved in leadership activities with ASB, but her passion is dancing. Only 17 years old, Kimee has been dancing for 15 years. She currently takes lessons at Marysville Performing Arts Centre, where she spends an average of 10 hours each week practicing. The audience at the scholarship pageant will be treated to a dance number by Kimee for her talent offering. A self-confessed "mom's girl," Kimee plans to attend a local college, either UW or Western Washington University, after completion of classes at EvCC. Kimberlee is the daughter of Dan and Jan Kipperberg, and has two older sisters and a younger brother.
A senior at Marysville Mountain View High School, 17-year-old Christina Murphy likes writing, music and other creative pursuits. Her goals include attending Cornish College for the Arts to study music, and maybe auditioning for "American Idol." She is a member of the youth group at St. Mary's Catholic Church, and enjoys volunteering in the community. Christina describes herself as a "goofy person," admitting that one of her favorite activities is playing football just for fun. She will perform the song "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles for the talent competition. Christina is the daughter of Chuck and Mila Murphy, and she has an older brother.
Haley Otto is a junior at M-PHS in the Bio-Med Academy who also takes Running Start classes at EvCC. Her course load and a part-time job at Party City precludes Haley from participating in many school activities or sports, and she misses the fun of playing tennis and softball. Shelby Hintze, last year's Strawberry Festival queen, encouraged Haley to try out for a festival royalty spot, and Haley is excited about exploring new opportunities and expanding her horizons. The 17-year-old plans to study journalism and public speaking in college. For her talent presentation, Haley will sing and play the ukulele in a rendition of "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Haley's parents are John Otto (wife Toni) and Ursula Spidell (husband Don), and she has three sisters and a brother.
16-year-old Lauren Stallcup, a junior at M-PHS' School of the Entrepreneur, uses her spelling and grammar skills as editor of the school newspaper. She is also an endurance athlete who competes in marathons and other events for charities like the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society and March of Dimes. She plans to compete in the Seattle Triathlon this summer, but admits she doesn't know how to swim yet. Lauren has been dancing since 6th grade and currently takes classes at NW Dance Acro in Arlington. Her favorite style of dance is ballet. The daughter of Lane and Maria Stallcup, Lauren has an older brother and younger sister.
Ella Stefoglo is a gregarious 18-year-old senior at Lakewood High School and a Running Start student at EvCC. Her passion is working with people to make a difference in their lives, but she also has an affinity for math and spatial relationships. As a hobby, she enjoys cooking and gardening. Ella speaks four languages, including her native Ukrainian along with Russian, Spanish and English. She plans to attend a local Christian-based college after graduation but has yet to determine her chosen career path. Ella works at the Adidas Store at Seattle Premium Outlets and still finds time to volunteer in the schools and at Providence Hospital. For her talent presentation, she will perform an original "Gypsy Spanish" dance. Ella is the oldest of four children and the daughter of Nataliya and Aleksandr Stefoglo.
Like many of the other girls in the festival competition, 18-year-old Kaija Wilcox is a Running Start student who is concurrently a senior at M-PHS in the International School of Communications. A 3.9 student, she has already been accepted at the University of Washington, and plans to study music education. Kaija has participated in choir since third grade, and during her high school career she was selected for the All-State Choir and the prestigious All-Northwest Choir. She also participates in the school's Color Guard. Kaija will perform an Italian song during the pageant's talent competition. The daughter of Wayne and Janet Wilcox, Kaija has five older siblings.
Don't miss your opportunity to meet these outstanding young women, along with the Junior Royalty candidates, during the Strawberry Festival Pageant March 20. Tickets to the event are $10, or $5 for students at the door with a valid ASB card.
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