The Albany Tulip Queen and Court is a symbolic monarchy with a yearly coronation at the Tulip Festival, which takes place in May at Washington Park in Albany, New York annually. The Tulip Queen and her court serve as ambassadors of the city and engage in community service projects during their one-year term.
The Tulip Queen is selected through a process involving letters of recommendation and interviews by a selection committee. Women aged 18 to 24 are eligible for nomination. The selection of the Tulip Queen began as a beauty pageant, but for many years now the Queen and her court have been selected solely based on their community awareness, history of serving the community, and dedication to Albany. Along with the queen, four court members are selected to work throughout the City of Albany during the year.. Retrieved August 8, 2009. Each year the Queen and her court select a literacy project to implement in the City of Albany.
The crowning of the Tulip Queen starts with a short processional. First come the police, then the Albany Police Band playing bagpipes and drums, then a car containing last year's Tulip Queen and the current mayor. Next come a series of five cars each containing the five Tulip Queen finalists. After the processional, the mayor, each finalist, and few other people give speeches. The mayor reads a note that says who has won the Tulip Queen title. Finally, last year's Tulip Queen takes off her crown and puts it on the head of the new queen. The four finalist not crowned then become the court members. The Tulip Queen and her court serve their year of service until the next Tulip Festival takes place and a new queen is crowned.
The Albany Tulip Queen and Court are an asset to the city of Albany contributing thousands of hours each year in volunteer service.
List of Albany Tulip Queens
Year Tulip Queen Tulip Court Members*Notes1949Jeanne Coakley-FoleyFirst Queen1950Dorothy Ward-Scalone d. 20071951Judy Davenport1952Jo Pangie-Henk1953Peggy Retter Quinn1954Lois Tewell-Woodworth d.1955Suzanne Schuster1956Nadia Spiak-Rymanowski1957Carol Thorsen-Quackenbush d. 20151958Jane Armstrong -Snowden1959Carol Smurl-Fields1960Julie Kaiser1961Patricia Ponticello1962Nancy Self-Fornato 1963 Joanne Gross 1964Maureen Glasheen1965Bonnie Mason1966Donna Vache-Fish1967Karen Holtslag1968Kathy McTague-Odabashian1969Linda Kinnicutt-Lamb1970Chritine Little-Daddario1971Janet Schlegel-Larkin1972Judi Murphy1973Patty Mutterer1974Jacqueline Regina-Dushensky1975Blaine Ryan-Lynch1976Patricia Murphy Moonan1977Mary Kelly Illnicki1978Marjorie Tetrault1979Sandy Rector-Deluca1980Elizabeth Miller-Grandjacquet1981Stephanie Freeman-Cohen1982Shelia McGrath-Babbino1983Mary Theresa Moreland1984Debra Capazucco-Peda1985Jill Harris-Johnson Current Selection Committee Member1986Andrea Palumbo1987Anne Marie Dolan-Scott1988Maria Mokhiber-Ziamandanis1989Heather Britt-Subik1990Diane Foley-Chowenhill1991Kelly Hogan-Finelli1992Jennifer Recene-Gallagher1993Wendy Sims1994Victoria Lee Palmer1995Stacey Vennard-Kirk1996Tamara Thorpe-Odem1997Christina Roberts-Ryba NYS Supreme Court Justice1998Katie O'Malley Founder and owner of Katie O Weddings and Events1999Nichole Stack2000Kelly Conlon2001Amy Kaplan Currently Selection Committee Co-Chair2002Jennifer Gould-Lobban2003Kaylin Gross2004Meredith Rose-Kelly2005Amy Deitz2006Amanda Benincasa2007Amisha Gomes 2008 Sarah Volk Selection Committee Member 2009 Juliana Hernandez. Retrieved August 8, 2009. 2010Mishka Gilkes2011Karen Colehour 2012 Emily Finnegan 2013 (65th) Kate Bender Meghan Cahill, Gigi Diffenback, Fendi Munoz, Alexis Osborne Meghan Cahill Selection Committee Member2014Caitlin WhelanJillian Callanan, TaraMarie Crisafulli, Kasmira Wilkins, Meghan Yi2015Alexandra CroninMorgan Heyward, Jacqueline Murphy, Eva Petkanas, Sarah Wilamowski2016Adaviah WardSamantha Coons, Mariah Rickard, Racquel Saddler2017Ashley LogginsErin Bryk, Kelly Phillips, Julianna Rauf, Amanda Volk2018Sawyer CresapKatherine Donnelly, Xavia Francis, Natalie Joseph, Elizabeth Stenard2019Emily Barcia-VarnoParneet Kaur, Megan Morrill, Michaela Schramm Reign ended July 18, 20202020Kaya Rifenberg-Stempel Kimberly Guzman-Reyes, Samantha Peck, Maya Wilson, Karina Wojnar Reign began July 18, 20202021Ashanti BishopAadya Kaushik, Sierra Liotta, Allison Moser, Andrea Thomas2022Sam MillsAshley Mayfield, Sakthi Muthukrishnan, Kathleen Nielsen, Meghan O'Neil First non-binary Tulip Queen2023Olivia OwensMariah Carter, Victoria Clary, Haleigh Gaston, Jadan Rivera
The first several decades of the tradition did not honor the court in the way that it currently is. The court began to participate in events year round in the 1980s.
Notes
External links (official site)