Carrot Royalty Speech Contest showcases girls’ eloquence and poise
HOLTVILLE — Seven carrot royalty contestants showed their poise, eloquence, and talent during the Carrot Royalty Speech Contest here on Thursday, January 26, at the Civic Center of Holt Park.
The 2023 Carrot Royalty court has three candidates running for Carrot Queen: Arielle Sotelo, Chloe Ponce, and Samantha Castaneda, two for Carrot Princess: Natalie Garfio, and Jocelyn Ornelas, and three for Junior Princess: Aleeyah Aguilar, Alexandria Reeves, and Addison Lydick.
Thursday, the participants displayed their thoughts and sentiments on topics such as believing in dreams, embracing ethnic diversity, community harmony, or achieving goals through hard work in their speeches.
“Our theme this year for our carrot festival is ‘Carrotopia,’” said Holtville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rosie Allegranza. “It’s influenced by (the animated Disney movie) Zootopia where anybody can be anything, if you put hard work into it, you can achieve your dreams.”
Allegranza said the speech portion counts for 25% of the criteria to win, with the rest being 50% on raffle ticket sales and the remaining 25% on community service, poise, and etiquette.
Junior Princesses contestants had one to two minutes to share their speech, Princesses had three to four minutes, and Queens had five to six minutes.
“Life is full of moments, and it is up to us to do our best in every one of them,” Jocelyn Ornelas, Carrot Princess participant, said in her speech on a lesson learned from hard work and how to apply it to future.
“There is no better feeling than knowing that a whole town and community has your back,” said Arielle Sotelo, Carrot Queen contestant, in her speech on how anybody can be anything.
This year the annual Carrot Festival will hit its 76-year mark. For Allegranza, the Carrot Queen contest means continuing the community’s traditions.
“Everybody enjoys this festival,” Allegranza said. “The whole community comes together to see their family and friends. It is important for these young ladies to see that.”
To reflect on Carrotopia as this year’s Carrot Festival topic, Allegranza highlighted its importance in teaching the community about kindness, love, and harmony.
According to the Holtville Chamber of Commerce schedule of events, the 2023 Carrot Festival Queen, Princess, and Junior Princess coronation and Citizen of the Year banquet will be held on February 3, at the Swiss Club in Holtville. For more information on the event, contact the Holtville Chamber of Commerce at (760) 356-2923.