PASADENA>> The 96th Rose Queen was crowned in a Thursday evening ceremony at the First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena.
Queen Ana Marie Acosta, of Pasadena Polytechnic School will reign over the 125th Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1 and the Rose Bowl Game later that afternoon.
The announcement was made midway through an hourlong event hosted by CNN anchor Michaela Pereira. The TV personality characterized the lead up as a “long and exciting road to the coronation.”
Acosta, from Altadena, beamed as Tournament President R. Scott Jenkins made the announcement. Members of her court huddled around Acosta in celebration. She was escorted to the stage for the official coronation by her father Dr. John Acosta.
“Dreams come true,” Jenkins said, opening an envelope that concealed the winner’s name. “Don’t they ladies?”
About five PETA protesters one in a orca costume gathered along Sierra Madre Boulevard as guests drove into the ceremony. They took issue with Sea World’s planned entry in the New Year’s Day parade.
“SeaWorld’s float is deceptive in the extreme showing a family of orcas leaping in a magnificent ocean,” said Virginia Fort, senior campaigner for PETA.
“SeaWorld routinely captures these animals and forcibly removes them from the wild,” she said. “A float that celebrates cruelty to animals at something that’s family friendly makes a mockery of the parade.”
Fort said the goal of the protest is for the Tournament of Roses to remove the SeaWorld float from its line-up.
The Tournament of Roses made some changes to Thursday night’s announcement and coronation ceremony. Rather than holding two separate events for the Rose Queen announcement and her coronation as in the past, the tournament combined the two events into one this year.
Several queens from years past attended the event, which is a precursor to the 125th annual Rose Parade
The change required that the girls go through a quick costume change from formal wear into gowns.
Acosta, beamed again as she emerged onto the stage in a white, floor-length ball gown.
Jenkins said the combination of what had been two events was made so the princesses miss less school time in the weeks before the annual parade.
Acosta, 17, was selected from an initial group of about 1,000 young women that was narrowed down to 30 before the final seven ladies of the Royal Court were chosen.
Joining the queen, members of the Royal Court, which were announced Oct. 7, are:, Sarah Hansen, 19, of Pasadena City College, Kayla Johnson-Granberry, 17, of Pasadena High School, Jamie Kwong, 17, of La Salle High School, Katherine Lipp, 17, of La Canada High School, Elyssia Widjaja, 17, of San Marino High School, and Elizabeth Woolf, 17, of La Canada High School.
