Watermelon Queen Contest - Sunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival

Sunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival - Sponsored by the Sunland-Tujunga Lions Club

Sunland-Tujunga 50th Annual
Watermelon Festival 2011
AUGUST 12-14, 2011
Our 50th Year!

Sunland Park
8651 Foothill Blvd., Sunland, CA 91040
Click for Directions

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Lions Club

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Queen/King Contest
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The Royal Watermelon Court

Festival 2011

The Making of the Court

It's a win, win, win contest!

The candidates win by gaining experience in salesmanship and poise.

The organizations they represent win money to help with their programs.

The community wins through the extensive outreach program of the Sunland-Tujunga Lions Club that is funded by the contest and the Festival.

Support the candidates of your choice with your generous contributions to their campaigns.

Candidates for Queen of the
Royal Watermelon Court

Geraldine Bellue
Boy Scout Troop 315

Renee Menart
McGroarty Arts Center

Michelle Mesta
Verdugo Hills High School Cheerleading Squad

Cassidy Swick
Blue Shadows Equestrian Drill Team
and
Verdugo Hills High School Aquatics Program

Candidates for the King of the
Royal Watermelon Court

For the first time in fifty years a King will reign over the annual Watermelon Festival!

tomharmon

Tom Harmon
Verdugo Hills Family YMCA

Brandon Guzman
Desi Geestman Foundation

Harrison Simblet
Verdugo Hills High School Football Squad

Candidates for Junior Queen of the
Royal Watermelon Court

Faith Baer
Verdugo Hills High School Girls Softball Program

Melissa Cervantes
Verdugo Hills High School
Cheerleading Squad

Raelynn Douglas
Wildlife Way Station

Ashlie Makohon
Sunland-Tujunga LEO Club

The King, Queen and Junior Queen are chosen on a point system. Points are given for the tickets each candidate sells, for the votes cast for each candidate by the public, and for the community service each candidate has given. The candidates in each category with the most points at 7 p.m. on August 8 will be the winners!

Learn How You Can Enter the Watermelon Queen Contest

Read the Queen Contest Rules

Meet the 2010 Royal Watermelon Queen

Paishence Williams
Sponsored by the Verdugo Hills High School Water Polo Team

Special Photos of the Queen and her Court by Mike Lucas will be appearing here on Saturday. Tune back in!

Royal Melon Court 2009

Photos by Michael Lucas

2009court

Queen Kayleigh Raiche queenkayleigh

Sponsored by Boy Scout Troop #315

Kayleigh has been involved in the local Sunland-Tujunga community beginning with her involvement in Scouting more than a decade ago. She served in the local program from Brownies through Juniors and Cadettes to her current Senior Level where she has earned the Bronze and Silver Awards and is currently a Gold Award candidate.

She eagerly seeks volunteer opportunities in her local and surrounding communities. Her after shool activities have included Varsity Water Polo and Volleyball. She has actively supported her school newspaper by writing articles.

Her organizational involvement includes the National Charity League, Glendale Chapter where she regulary contributes volunteer hours to the LA Zoo, Special Olympics, the Salvation Army, YWCA Glendale, the American Red Cross and local hospitals.

"I would like to be Queen of the Watermelon Festival because I love the opportunity to work within the community serving people whenever I can; I thank you for the opportunity to be involved. I'd like to raise money for Boy Scout troop #315 because it would be contributing to one of the organizations I have grown up next to my entire life."

Junior Queen Maggie Ryder
maggieryder

Sponsored by the Verdugo Hills YMCA

Maggie graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes School in June 2009, and was an incoming freshman at Verdugo Hills High School.
She loves dancing, singing, acting and sports, especially volleyball, soccer, and snowboarding. Maggie was excited to be given the opportunity to be a Junior Watermelon Princess representing the local YMCA as Maggie and her 4 older siblings and parents have been involved with the Sunland-Tujunga Y for the past 25 years. She was very happy to raise money for the YMCA because she sees first hand how their money goes toward programs that help people of all ages from tots to senior citizens within her own community.

Maggie had been involved in a variety of volunteer opportunities:
Assisted the Boy Scouts to build new bleachers for OLL school.
Participated in numerous fundraisers to purchase a "Green House" for OLL school.
Helped produce and edit a 100 page Yearbook for her 8th Grade Graduating Class.
Helped run the Recycling Program for Cans and Bottles at OLL.
Participated in Student Council for two years and attended a five day seminar on Leadership Training.
Helped as an Office Assistant for her school's Religious Outreach Program on a weekly basis.
Sang at various Convalescent Homes during the holidays.
Volunteering at the YMCA.

She said that "I would like to be the Junior Queen of the Watermelon Festival because I think it is a great opportunity for me to give back to my community."

Royal Princesses

Alexis deLucia
Sponsored by the McGroarty Arts Center

Alexis 2

Alexis will be entering Pasadena City College as a Freshman this Fall, majoring in Theater and General Education. She attended and graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) class of 2009. She has been active in many school and community groups, including the Theater Department, Film Department and Musical Theater Department; Square Peg Theater Company; Jane Austen Club; Girl Scouts; Boy Scouts; Sea Scouts; and TreePeople. She enjoys acting, singing, and community service.

"I would like to be Queen of the Watermelon Festival because when I was younger, I was sponsored by Cub Scout Troop #326 at Sunland School and I became a Jr. Watermelon Princess. That was the first year they had a junior category. As a Princess, I was proud to represent the communities of Sunland and Tujunga then and would like to do it again. I believe in showing the best our community has to offer. The Watermelon Festival is a time where we all come together to celebrate our communities in the foothills. The people who live in the community, the non-profits and the service clubs all put their best foot forward and everyone benefits. And it’s just great FUN!

When ever I go somewhere as part of an introduction game you are asked to tell a secret no one else knows about you… I put down I was the Jr. Watermelon Princess. Sometimes people are able to guess correctly because they know it was me! Now, I hope I can say I was the Queen!

I just finished my thirteenth year as a Girl Scout. Inspired by my love of history and the arts, I combined two projects into one to complete my Girl Scout Gold Award at the McGroarty Arts Center. I attended both art and ballet classes at the Center as a preschooler and it's a place where history and art come together. "Preserving Our Past, and Growing Our Future" was the name of my project; I completed a garden project and custom framed over 40 documents and artifacts from the McGroarty Estate. I knew this project would have a true impact on my community and would preserve the history of this wonderful place for generations to come."

Ainsley prom

Ainsley Rickert
Sponsored by the Desi Geestman Foundation,
La Crescenta

"I love the idea of being able to represent my community and help an organization that I believe in. I have always wanted to be the Watermelon Festival Queen ever since I was a little girl. I believe that more awareness needs to be brought to children with cancer. These children and their families need all the support and love they can get."

Ainsley has been active in Girl Scouts for 11 years; she has been an intern at the McGroarty Arts Center; she currently is a volunteer at the Desi Geestman Foundation. She works as a Teacher's Assistant and enjoys art, fashion, literature, camping, Girl Scouts and community service.

Junior Princesses

Elin Ghazikhanian
Sponsored by the Verdugo Hills High School Interact Club

Elin

I believe family goes beyond hereditary ties. I want to create a sense of family in our community. Sunland-Tujunga is a beautiful town with even more beautiful individuals. I believe with dedicated leaders, active volunteers and a positive attitude we can have the best community ever! I am doing all I can to work towards that and I enjoy it.

I have been an active member and the public relations leader of Verdugo Hills High School Interact club, which is a junior Rotary Club. In this club I have:

proposed the idea, helped organize and run the Students’ Foothill Anti-Drug Walk
volunteered at Game Night in which we raised $400 for Direct Relief.
volunteered at LA Food Bank, Environmental Youth Conference, and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
attended meetings of the Interact Club, Sunland-Tujunga Rotary club, and collaborative meetings with Delphi Academy Interact Club. I love to make positive changes and contribute in any way I can.

At school I am the cofounder of Verdugo Hills High School Creative Writing Club and I have contributed articles to our school’s newspaper, La Yuca, in Journalism.

In the community I have worked at the voting polls and right now I am working along with Sunland-Tujunga Rotary Club and members of the Interact Club to open up a free tutoring center at Sunland Park for our community.

Heather Choi
Sponsored by P.A.V.A, Pacific American Volunteer Association

Hea Heatherphoto

ther Choi is fourteen years old and will soon be a sophomore at Polytechnic HS in Pasadena.

Her favorite subjects at school are French and art because “they are really fun and they both come so easily to me.” Her hobbies include drawing and painting as well as playing sports. She loves softball and tennis the most. When she isn’t busy with sport or art activities, she loves to do volunteer work and especially enjoys working with PAVA because they help make the environment a cleaner place. On the weekends, PAVA volunteers go to parks or rivers and pick up trash. “I think it’s really fun to help out, and ever since I started volunteering, I became really interested in the environment. Heather also tutors at a library in Monterey Park where she helps students improve their English. Because she also loves animals, she would like to help out at an animal shelter. When she grows up, she wants to become a dermatologist and continue to do volunteer work and hopes to be able to help many people.

“The reason why I am interested in becoming the Junior Queen this year is because I have gained a lot of experience working with the Lions Club for two years and I love coming to the Watermelon Festival. This will be my third year attending/helping out and I’ve really enjoyed it. Last year, I was the Junior Princess and the year before, I helped my older sister (who was a princess) sell raffle tickets. Where I live, there aren’t any festivals during the summer where there are fun contests, free music, and cool booths. That’s why I love the Watermelon Festival and would be honored to be the Junior Queen and I promise to do my best."

Meet the Courts of Festivals Past

Festival Court 2009
Festival Court 2008
Festival Court 2007
Festival Court 2006
Festival Court 2005

Website Design, Development, and Update donated by Barry Ira Geller