The Rose of Kentucky will be crowned this weekend at the Rose Ball in the Red Mile Clubhouse starting at 7 p.m. March 9. The winner will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland.
Sponsored by the Lexington Celtic Association, the Kentucky Rose competition, a regional affiliate of the Rose of Tralee International Rose of Tralee International Festival competition, is a personality competition, not a traditional beauty pageant, for young women of Irish descent. The competition is based on a 19th-century ballad about a woman named Mary whose beauty earned her the title “Rose of Tralee.”
Contestants will be young unmarried women of Irish heritage who are between the ages of 18 and 27.
The Rose of Tralee International Festival draws tourists and contestants from around the globe to Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, to enjoy street entertainment, a carnival, live concerts, markets, fireworks and a parade. The heart of the festival is the crowning of the Rose of Tralee, who will travel the world as an ambassador of Irish culture.
According to festival organizers, “a Rose reflects the intelligence, compassion and independence of modern Irish women. Over the years our Roses have mirrored a changing Ireland and the definition of Irishness.”
Last year, Annie Wright, then a 20-year-old student at Transylvania University, was named Kentucky’s first Rose of Tralee at a competition during the 2012 St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
This year’s Rose Ball begins at 7 p.m., and costs $30 for general admission, which includes hors d’oeuvres and live music entertainment. Tickets are on sale prior to the event at Failte Irish Imports (113 S. Upper St.). Proceeds from entry fees and the Rose Ball will be used to pay for the Rose’s Ireland trip. More information on the ball and the competition can be found at www.lexingtonceltic.org.
This year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival will be held from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. March 16 in the downtown CentrePointe vacant lot, with a break at 1 p.m. for the parade.