An active senior at Esparto High School will preside over the 2020 Almond Festival this coming Sunday after she was selected as Almond Queen.
Sierra Winter, who lives in Woodland, was selected as the 105th Almond Queen on Saturday night during a pageant held at the Guinda Grange Hall. She will receive a $1,000 scholarship provided by the Western Yolo Grange No. 423.
Named runner up and Miss Congeniality was Kelly Schwenger, who will receive a $200 scholarship.
Other competitors were Alondra Lua, Andrea Garza and Kiera Edwards.
More than 150 people attended the pageant which also included a dinner prepared by the Western Yolo Grange and Rumsey Improvement Association. As it has for more than a decade, the pageant was held in the Guinda Grange Hall, which was bedecked by almond blossoms and fresh flowers.
Each of the five contestants had to deliver a prepared speech on the subject: “If you were a judge for the Almond Queen Pageant, what qualities would you look for in the Almond Queen to best represent the Capay Valley?”
Master of Ceremonies Thaddeus Barsotti then questioned the contestants on some aspect of their speech as well as quizzed them on a “fun question,” such as what type of ice cream they would like to be or what type of pool would they like to jump in if it wasn’t filled with water?
The contestants were judged by Vice-Mayor of Sacramento, Eric Guerra, who is an Esparto High School graduate; Judy Van de Water of Capay; and former Almond Queen Laura Gordon of Granite Bay.
New Almond Queen Sierra Winter is a Woodland resident and the daughter of Lydia and Mike Winter. Sierra is an involved senior at Esparto High School. She is a member of the FFA, Junior State of America, Leo’s Club, National Honor Society, California Girls State and Congressional Academy.
Winter has held offices in Leo’s Club, National Honor Society, FFA, Culinary Club as well as Class Offices. She has a 4.6 GPA and has held Spartan Honors for three years.
Winter is also a volunteer at the Lions Crab Feed, Sock Drive for the Homeless, FFA Blood Drive, Hoes Down Festival and many more.
In her free time, Winter said she enjoys participating in events that positively affect the community as well as traveling, painting and crafting at home. In the future, she plans to attend Seton Hall or university to pursue a major in environmental studies, in hopes to combat the destruction of natural disasters.
Winter said she was influenced by her FFA education and the wildfire that raced through the Capay Valley in 2018. Her sponsor was Eagle Drug.
Schwenger lives in Esparto with her parents Dave and Becky Schwenger and is the youngest of seven children, and an active senior at Esparto High School. She is a member of the Leo’s Club and Esparto/Capay Valley 4-H, where she serves as president of both organizations, a member of the FFA and Junior State of America as well as the co-president of the National Honor Society.
Outside of school, Kelly volunteers at the Esparto Fire Station during floods. She is a multi-sport athlete, participating in volleyball, soccer, softball and cheer. She has earned many academic and athletic awards. She earned most defensive player in soccer and was voted All-League in soccer and volleyball. She has won many awards in FFA. Her hobbies include wakeboarding, sewing, crafts, and anything outdoors, especially gardening and community service projects.
In the future, Schwenger wants to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and major in biological sciences. She would then like to go to medical school and become a trauma doctor in the Air Force. Her sponsor at the competition was Yolo Family Farms.
Winter will preside over this year’s 105th Almond festival that gets underway on Sunday throughout the Capay Valley.
This one-of-a-kind festival is the only one in California that spans 21 miles and is hosted by six towns. The towns of Madison, Esparto, Capay, Brooks, Guinda, and Rumsey all have their own contributions.
The festival starts with an FFA Pancake Breakfast at Esparto High Schoo, around 8 a.m. There will also be a barbecue in Rumsey, car show and numerous vendor and craft booths throughout the valley, as well as live bands and a petty zoo.
