It’s time once again for the annual Cotton Queen, King, Princess and Prince Contest. Anyone interested in competing to be a part of this year’s Cotton Royalty and ride on the Corcoran Chamber of Commerce float needs to pick up a entry form at the Corcoran Chamber of Commerce office, which is located at 1040 Whitley Avenue.
Candidates will be required to compete in several categories. All candidates will be judged on presentation, appearance and poise and will be required to sell Cotton Festival buttons. Queen and King candidates must be high school students. All candidates must reside in Corcoran or Waukena, but do not have to attend school in the Corcoran Unified School District.
Queen and King participants will be chosen from the high school level and will write a full-page essay or poem. The topic will be “A Cotton Pickin’ Festival “. All candidates will be required to read their essay or poem before a panel of judges. There will be one Cotton Queen or King selected and one Senior Princess or Senior Prince selected. The Cotton Queen or King will receive $200 and the Sr. Princess or Prince will receive $100 (all minimum requirements must be met to earn the cash prizes. High School participants will compete against John Muir students for Sr. Princess or Prince).
One participant in each grade range, which includes Kindergarten-first, second-third, fourth-fifth and sixth-eighth, will be Junior Cotton Princess or Prince.
Entrants from Kindergarten-first grades are required to draw a picture depicting “A Cotton Pickin’ Festival” and present it to a panel of judges.
Entrants from second-third grades are required to draw a picture and submit one paragraph depicting “A Cotton Pickin’ Festival” and present it to a panel of judges.
Entrants from fourth-fifth grades are required to submit a one-page story or poem depicting “A Cotton Pickin’ Festival” and present it to a panel of judges.
Entrants from sixth-eighth grades are required to write a poem or essay with the topic “A Cotton Pickin’ Festival” present it to a panel of judges and will be eligible to compete for Sr. Princess or Prince, which will win $100.
All Princess and Prince participants are required to sell the minimum of 50 Cotton Festival buttons. All Queen and Kings participants are required to sell a minimum of 100 buttons. If the minimum requirement is not met, the individual will not be eligible to participate in the contest. If button money is not turned in on the announced date, the candidate will not be eligible to participate and will be held accountable and punishable by law.
Applications must be turned in by Tuesday, August 25 at noon. Interviews will take place Tuesday, Aug. 25 at the chamber office starting at 5:30 p.m.
