Country towns embrace their annual festivals and traditionally young women compete to be crowned queen of an event, but modern times are calling for diversity and inclusion — so does her majesty’s title need to change?
Key points:
- A northern NSW festival is allowing contestants to choose the title most suited to them
- A documentary filmmaker says the events shouldn’t be “over-politicised”
- A man has expressed interest in being a candidate in this year’s Jacaranda Festival
Towns in northern New South Wales celebrate historical shows such as Casino’s Beef Week, the Banana Festival in the Tweed Shire, the Jacaranda Festival in Grafton, and the recent 2023 Rodeo Queen of Australia, which was won by Grafton woman Jessica Hicks.
Most of these events started in the 1930s and ’50s and celebrated agricultural or horticultural achievements.
Jacaranda Festival candidate director Hanna Craig, the event’s 2021 queen, said in the old days the country events held beauty pageants in which women were judged on their looks as well as their fundraising achievements.
She said candidates now are also being assessed on their community work, event management and public speaking, and that men wanted to be involved.
“In our community we want to be more inclusive,” Ms Craig said.
“When I was the Jacaranda Queen a lot of people approached me and asked why men could not get involved in the popular event.
“Men have wanted to take part in the festival since the 1990s.”
Ms Craig said a decision was made last year to change the festival candidate quest name to be either queen, king or ambassador.
She said the candidates could choose their title based on what they believed in and what their pronouns were.
“So if your pronouns are she/her, you can opt to be a queen or ambassador,” she said.
“If your pronouns are he/him you, can opt to be a king or ambassador, and if your pronouns are they/them you can opt to be any of the three.
“We are working with the candidates to ensure they are happy with whatever title they choose.”
‘Not a beauty pageant’
But filmmaker Lawrence Johnson who made, The Once A Queen Documentary on the Jacaranda Event, thinks country festivals should keep their queens.
Mr Johnson said there is a lot of history attached to those community events.
“The Jacaranda Festival is about celebrating Grafton’s famous trees while also acknowledging local young women leaving their teenage years to become women of the world,” he said.
“It is not a beauty pageant, but more about celebrating the village and the candidate’s community work and charity fundraising.
“If guys want to enter Jacaranda that is fine — but just keep the spirit of what the intentions were without over-politicising events like this.”
Kara Porter has been crowned this year’s Beef Week Queen in Casino with her motto, “It takes zero dollars to be kind”.
Her aunty also entered the competition a few years ago.
“My parents and grandparents were very proud and my dad had to pick his chin up from the ground when I won,” Ms Porter said.
“It has been a wonderful experience for me and I have made new friends and discovered more people who inspire me.
“Doing it with a bunch of girls was fun.”
Ms Craig says one man is interested in competing in this year’s Jacaranda Festival.
The successful candidate is set to be crowned on October 27.
Loading