The Strawberry Festival's history is wrapped up in its Court members from the very beginning--with 1909 Queen Ida Devine. The Senior Royalty Courts were chosen through various methods over the years, but prior to 1950, they were comprised of a representative from each high school in Linn County (often including Corvallis as well). It wasn't until 1950 when the Strawberry Festival became the Lebanon Strawberry Festival, that the Court was all Lebanon girls. It wasn't uncommon to have Senior Courts with 9 or 10 Princesses! Eventually we settled on having Senior Courts of 5 young ladies from Lebanon, and Junior Courts with a 2nd Grade Princess from each elementary school in Lebanon School District.
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We love to keep tabs on our former Court members--what a wonderful group of women! Did you know we have Court members around the world, and in pretty much every career imaginable? And so many are still here in Lebanon! These women continue to represent the values of Strawberry Festival by being incredible stewards for their communities, and we enjoy every chance we have to get these women back together to celebrate the tradition and legacy they are a part of. Every fifth year of Strawberry Festival, we host a reunion float for past Court members in our Grand Parade, and work closely with our former courts to put on events each year like our historical Dress Display!
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Former Court Dress Display
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A more recent addition to the Strawberry Festival has been our Former Court Dress Display! So many of our former court members have held onto their Princess dresses from their time on Strawberry Festival Court, and we love to bring those memories back to life and showcase the passage of time (and history) through the ever changing fashions! You can look for the Dress Display in downtown Lebanon from mid-May through mid-June. The heart of the display is housed in the window fronts of 550 Main St, with smaller displays in various window fronts.
IF YOU HAVE A STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL DRESS OR OTHER MEMORABILIA YOU WOULD LIKE INCLUDED IN THE DISPLAY, PLEASE CONTACT US AT [email protected] |
Click to find a complete list of the former courts.
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