by Dot Cannon
“I’ve seen the crown. It’s amazing,” said KTLA News Co-Anchor Lu Parker.
“It’s going to be on that pillow in a little while.”
It was Wednesday, October 25th, just after 6:00 pm, Pacific time. Pasadena Tournament of Roses® had just begun live-streaming their announcement of the 2023 Rose Queen®, on their YouTube channel, from the steps of Tournament House.
Shortly, audience members would get to meet the seven young women of the 2023 Royal Court. And within the hour, one of them would be announced as the new Rose Queen®. She and her court would preside over the Rose Parade® on January 2, 2023.
A Rose Parade® memory
Serving as hostess for the evening, Lu shared one of her own Rose Parade® experiences. After moving to Los Angeles and starting to work with KTLA in 2005, she said, she was asked to be a part of the station’s Rose Parade® coverage.
During the pre-show broadcast, she was working with the late KTLA reporter Stan Chambers as Councilmember Tom LaBonge stood nearby.
“I was interviewing, standing next to a float,” she said. “…(Stan) was on the float.
“…And for some reason, the truck took off and the float jerked. So now all of a sudden, Stan…is floating away from me.
“And then, all of a sudden, I see a tire coming for my foot.
“And Tom LaBonge saved me. He pulled me away from the float, and he never let me forget it.”
The audience laughed.
“He sent me a calendar every year,” Lu continued, ‘with a note that said, ‘Remember, I saved your life.'”
The president’s message
“This is truly one of my favorite moments each year,” said 2023 Tournament of Roses® President Amy Wainscott, a few minutes later.
President Wainscott referenced the 2023 Rose Parade® theme.
“You’ve heard me say that this year’s theme, “Turning the Corner”, …resonates with all of us,” she said.
“For our volunteer members and our parade participants, it instantly transports them to the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards.
“For others, New Year’s is a time of renewal, of resolutions, of ‘turning the corner’ in their own personal journey.
“To quote the 2023 Tournament of Roses® Grand Marshal, Gabby Giffords, the idea that we all can make a conscious decision to go in a different direction, towards something better. goes directly to the heart of this theme.”
President Wainscott said that she and her husband, Tim, had had the opportunity to get to know the members of the 2023 Royal Court.
“And to say that they are smart, funny, beautiful, accomplished, compassionate and relatable, only scratches the surface,” she commented, before thanking the staffers, Royal Court members’ families and communities, as well as the volunteers and sponsors who had made the evening possible.
A conversation with the Royal Court
Shortly afterwards, the seven members of the 2023 Royal Court appeared. Dressed in smart black pants suits with white blouses, they took their seats for an informal group conversation.
“The difficulty I had in my surgery, it propelled me to my destiny,” said Salia Baligh, in response to Lu’s question about what inspired her to become a doctor.
“I learned I want to…one day go to Children’s Hospital, L.A., and tell my patient, ‘I was you, sitting in that chair. You can be like me one day.'”
Lu next addressed Adrian Crick’s “super-varied” range of interests. “What do you plan on feeding your curiosity with next?” she asked.
“At the moment, it’s anything from sports to training my dog a little bit more,” Adrian said. “He’s definitely gotten out of training over the summer.
“And then it’s also, possibly just exploring potential careers…learning more about what the workforce looks like, and actually being in a job and what it’s like to learning something that’s a professional skills.”
The future, friendships and soccer
“I think that the (VEX) Robotics Team…opens up pathways for me to explore to NASA,” said Sahanna Rajinkanthan, in response to a question about the ways her extracurricular activities are preparing her for her ultimate dream: working at NASA.
“And then chemistry club is a leadership, so I get to gain knowledge from my peers and my fellow officers, on how to be the best president.”
Next was Uma Wittenberg.
“In your recent speech here at Tournament House, you spoke of your circle of women,” Lu said. “How has this new circle of women impacted your life?”
“Having lived with all women in my house for almost my entire life, this has been very natural to me,” Uma replied.
“These girls have taught me so much in just three weeks. We’re already so close: we’ve laughed together, we’ve struggled with our homework, trying to fit it in, and it’s just been so great to spend this time with these girls and I think we’ve really formed a lifelong friendship here.”
Before asking Bella Ballard about her passion for soccer, Lu turned to the audience.
“I’ll just give you some inside scoop. She’s going to Yale to play soccer!”
Turning back to Bella she asked, “Can you share with us how you work to share our love of the sport?”
“Soccer has been a lifelong passion of mine,” Bella replied. “I started playing when I was…four years old.
“I was inspired by my mom to keep pursuing my dream of playing professional soccer. And I especially love giving back to the community in any way I can.
“And that one way is through women’s sports. I enjoy volunteer coaching with any club…and just giving back is truly fulfilling in one of the best ways I know possible.”
“It was actually a recent decision,” said Michelle Cortez-Peralta. in response to a question about her future career goals in pursuing a degree in either civil or environmental engineering.
“Because I’ve always been interested in STEM, specifically math, through the math competitions I did growing up…but (I didn’t decide to go into engineering) until a summer program I had, called Launch Pad, where I decided it was something I was interested in because I could not only give back to my community but continue to pursue my passion of math and different sciences and it was something I could give back to.”
Last but not least, Lu greeted Zoe Denancourt with a “good evening”–or, prompted by Zoe who’s fluent in French, “bon soir”.
“She’s traveled a lot and we talked about it a lot last night,” Ms. Parker said.
But her question to Zoe, who moved to California from Boston three years ago, was about domestic travel: “What has moving across the country taught you?”
“You know, I think moving across the country, especially as a new high school student, is something very difficult,” Zoe replied.
“But it taught me how to adapt to new places and how to be able to make new connections with different people, and I think there’s definitely a big culture shock when you move across the United States. You stay in the same country but it’s very far away.
And I think this opportunity has made me the person I am today, and made me so able to interact with, and connect with, everyone in my life.”
Applause and cheers followed, as the 2023 Royal Court members left the stage to change into their evening wear.
“There’s an old saying that with age comes wisdom, but that’s a lot of wisdom from young girls, right?” Lu commented.
Next, two talented performance groups from Temple City High School entertained the audience.
A highlight of the several numbers the Brighter Side Singers performed was their Latin-flavored arrangement of the Turtles’ 1967 hit “Happy Together”. Meanwhile, dance group Choreo offered a dramatic interpretation of Isak Danielson’s “Broken”, and an uptempo dance to “Show Off”.
To cheers and applause, the young performers exited the stage.
A Rose Queen®’s guidance
Rose Queens and their courts, Lu told the audience, are “will forever be a part of the Tournament of Roses family”.
“To that end, we are always overjoyed to check in with Court members to see sort of what’s been going on since they were crowned.”
Then she introduced 1993 Rose Queen® Liana Yamasaki.
“When you’re up here you’re kind of like, ‘oh, wait’. You could pinch yourself, right?” Lu asked.
“Definitely,” Liana replied, “Thinking back to what it was like thirty years ago.
“Thirty years ago! And my Chairman is here and his wife and I love them dearly and I owe them a lot. But it is, it’s really kind of overwhelming in the moment, but then you just soak it all in. “
Currently, Liana said, she works with the Royal Court as etiquette consultant.
“I spend a lot of time with (the girls), we work on refining things that are actually very common practice but just make them just a little better.”
“Any no-no’s that they’re not supposed to do?” Lu asked.
“Don’t cross your legs, when you’re sitting,” Liana said.
“Cross at the ankles–keep the knees together.”
Showcasing the future
The time for the announcement was quickly approaching.
A video of each Royal Court member, with voiceover by a parent, preceded their return to stage. Each young woman was escorted by her mother or father. All seven, in their sparkly black gowns and holding bouquets of roses, stood proudly onstage with their escorts.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen, elegantly and beautifully escorted by their mothers and fathers, we present the 2023 Royal Court,” Lu said.
Loud applause followed. The escorts left the stage.
“There you go, good job. See, it wasn’t that bad,” Lu said as they exited. “One of them said they didn’t sleep all night last night, they were so nervous about coming up onstage,” she added, with a laugh.
The announcement
“As of now, there are two things that I know,” she continued.
“First, that one of these outstanding young ladies here on the stage will be crowned the 104th Rose Queen®. Second of all, any one of them would be perfect for the role.”
“…So please help me welcome back someone who might have the answer to who will be the next queen: the 2023 Tournament of Roses® president, Amy Wainscott.”
Smiling, President Wainscott said, “On October third, when we announced the seven members of the 2023 Royal Court, I was given each name to read by the Chair of the Queen and Court Committee.
“And three weeks later, she is once again the one with the envelope.”
Applause and cheers welcomed Queen and Court Committee Chair Kathy Perini.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said President Wainscott.
“The 2023 Rose Queen®–our 104th Rose Queen®–is…
There was a suspenseful pause as she opened the envelope.
“Can you do it any slower over there?” teased Lu. The Royal Court members laughed.
“Did they Superglue it?” President Wainscott laughed.
“…Bella Ballard!”
The new queen’s court gathered around her in a group hug. Together, the seven young women left the stage. Bella would reappear in her white queen’s gown, and the members of her court in their tiaras, for the official crowning, followed by the Queen’s Oath, a few minutes later.
Honoring a legend
And the short break served as another reminder why the Rose Parade® is special.
“I would like everybody to stand up, turn around, look at the camera back there, and wave to Margaret,” Lu directed. “And say, ‘hi’ because we know she’s watching us. She’s live, right now, in Northern California.
As directed, the audience stood, waved and gave a lot of love to Margaret–or, more specifically, 1940 Rose Queen® Margaret Huntley-Main, who attends every Rose Queen® announcement and coronation she can but was unable to be on hand that evening. She was watching the live stream from Auburn, California.
We’ve had the honor of meeting, and chatting briefly with, Margaret, at past coronation ceremonies. She is an incredible lady.
So, “hi” to Margaret. And congratulations to 104th Rose Queen® Bella Ballard!
President Wainscott said it best, in her opening remarks.
“On Monday, January 2, 2023,…over 30 million viewers worldwide (will be) watching the greatest parade in the world.”
