Little princesses wear their fanciest to meet Carnation Queen, court

ALLIANCE – The little princesses arrived at the castle in their fanciest gowns.

They arrived not in pumpkin carriages but with moms, grandmas and aunts – and some dads.

Dressed in purples, blues, yellows and pinks, the girls arrived Sunday at Glamorgan Castle, where they met the queen and her court for "A Royal Afternoon at The Castle."

Formerly known as the Princess Tea Party, the event that is one of the first of the 2022 Greater Alliance Carnation Festival included at least 100 girls at the open house-style get-together. The Carnation Festival gets underway in earnest on Aug. 4 and runs through Aug. 14.

The Princess Tea Party formerly was held at Alliance Country Club, where tickets cost more and reservations were limited.

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"We want to do something different," said co-chair of the event Cathy Brookes. "We wanted to move it to the castle but there's not enough space for a seated event.

"So we came up with an idea of an open house where they come in, make their crowns, look around, take pictures with the queen and get a treat."

This year's event cost $10 per child, and adults attended for free. Reservations were not needed. The former event allowed only 60 participants, and there were fees for children and adults.

Brookes said the proceeds from Royal Afternoon at the Castle pay for gifts for festival and pageant queens from other communities who participate in the Carnation Festival parade.

"It like it. She loves it."

Alyssa McCain of Alliance brought her 4-year-old daughter Abigail and other family members to Sunday's event. Like many of the other girls there, her daughter loves Disney princesses.

"We live right down the road, so we come to the castle all the time and she always wanted to go inside," McCain said. "I saw this. So she was excited to dress up, make a crown and meet the queen."

Tracy Bigboy of Johnstown, Ohio, has traveled from nearly 120 miles away to this royal event – past and present version – with her daughter Anna for the last three years. They have family in the Alliance area.

"She's all about princesses," Bigboy said. "I have relatives who always come, so that's how we started to come. I like it. She loves it. It's all good."

Final royal engagement

While no Disney princesses actually were present, there was no shortage of royalty at the castle.

The little girls took photos with 2021 Carnation Festival Queen Torrie Forrest and her court, First Attendant Madeline Davis, Second Attendant and Miss Congeniality Bethany Caruthers and Third Attendant Leah Springer.

Also, the contestants in this weekend's 2022 pageant were on hand helping to make crowns with the little ones and perform other tasks.

This year's competition starts 6 p.m. at Alliance High School.

For Forrest and her court, Sunday's event was their final engagement before the pageant.

"It's bittersweet, but we're excited to crown the next girls to represent the city," Springer said.

Davis said they were in the same position last year as this year's contestants. "Now they get to see us all dressed up and their faces light up," she said.

Forrest added: "We've made so many memories and done so many things over the past year. This event is such a fun way to wrap it all up because we get to be around all the little princesses that maybe someday grow up and do the pageant.

"It's one of the best experiences of my life and it's bittersweet to see it end. But I'm super excited to see who will be the next Carnation Queen and who I will crown."

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. Follow on Twitter @bduerREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Alliance's Glamorgan Castle hosts royal party for area girls