Osoyoos Royalty members (from left )Tianna Morgan, Emma Fernandes, and Bailey Toepfer are shown enjoying themselves at the recent Oliver Pageant. (Photo supplied)
The month of August was just as busy as July was with events and functions for all three members of the reigning Osoyoos Royalty.
Every weekend, Princess Bailey Toepfer, Queen Emma Fernandes and I were on the road to another B.C. community.
On Friday, July 31, we headed to White Rock for their annual White Rock Seafest.
It was our first time attending a nighttime parade and it was a very cool experience.
The pageant was very different from ours and it was interesting to see how different communities choose new Royalty. We met all of the candidates and developed a bond with them right away.
On Friday, Aug. 7, we drove to Penticton to watch the coronation of their new Royalty.
There were a number of candidates and each one did an amazing job.
Their impromptu question and answers were especially impressive.
The next morning, we took part in their parade in Penticton.
The visiting Royalty float was a flat-decked truck, where all of us sat together. That made it so much easier for us to socialize with representatives of communities that we had not met yet.
Following the parade, there were many activities at the beach, and Princess Bailey, Queen Emma, and I took the time to go on as many of the rides as we could.
For the evening, the Penticton Royalty Committee had organized a dance. It is the dance I have most enjoyed so far, with everyone on the dance floor dancing to today’s hits.
The next pageant we attended was a big one.
On Friday, Aug. 14, we headed to Merritt for the British Columbia Ambassador pageant.
The first night was all about speeches and all of the candidates did an outstanding job.
Two former Osoyoos princesses, Chelsea Cameron-Horner and Viveka Jensen, were candidates in the program.
On Saturday, we had lunch in the garden of Bailie House and took a tour of the home that was built in the early 1900s.
The town council had planned to tear it down, but the people of Merritt petitioned to keep it and won.
It is a beautiful house, situated in the middle of town and is cherished today.
That evening was the awards ceremony and the coronation of the new Ambassadors.
Cameron-Horner placed in the top three for the fundraising, sponsorship and knowledge awards and received a medal for each.
Congratulations to all of the candidates. The new B.C. Ambassadors are from Castlegar, Lake Cowichan and Kamloops.
The most recent pageant we attended was in Oliver on Saturday, Aug. 22. We met up with all the other visiting Royalty and headed on a winery tour to learn about all of the related jobs and how wine is made.
We also went to a winery looking like a castle, for some wonderful photography opportunities.
That evening the pageant was held and it was very difficult to sit through the event as we had gotten incredibly close to the retiring Ambassadors over the few weeks that we had spent together.
We are sure to come to know the new team just as well. At the dance right after the event, they were very sweet. We know that we’ll have a great reign together.
We’ve enjoyed travelling to different communities, seeing what each of them has to offer.
It has been very educational and I can’t wait to find out what future trips hold.
I can’t thank our community of Osoyoos enough for all of the support and the opportunities.
I have come to realize that we are not just community, but we are one big family.
This article was provided by the reigning Osoyoos Royalty Princess Tianna Morgan.
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