Riley Festival queen Lauren Silcox, second from left, greets schoolchildren during the Riley Festival Parade of Flowers last month. Joining her were, from left, court member Maggie Brown, festival princess Haley Arther and court member Sammantha Andis. Silcox will be a contestant in the Indiana Festivals Association Scholarship Pageant on Saturday night at Greenfield-Central High School.
GREENFIELD — Lauren Silcox, the reigning Riley Festival queen, wouldn’t mind a new tiara and some scholarship money for her birthday.
The Greenfield-Central High School senior will feel right at home when her school plays host to the Indiana State Festivals Association’s Scholarship Pageant on Saturday, Nov. 13, just two days after she turns 18.
Silcox was invited to represent Greenfield as the Riley Festival queen, competing against 21 other queens from various festivals throughout the state.
The annual pageant will find a new home this year at Greenfield-Central High School, where festivals association officials say it will remain through 2025.
“We normally have it during our convention in January, but we kind of changed things around because of COVID,” said Nancy Alldredge, a board member for both the state association and the Riley Festival.
Alldredge, who lives in Greenfield, is looking forward to being host to festival organizers and queens from around the state at Saturday’s pageant.
Greenfield’s centralized location made it a great choice to hold the competition, which will be in the high school auditorium, she said.
Throughout the day, festival organizers from around the state will gather at the school for the association’s annual meeting as pageant contestants prepare for the contest, which starts at 7 p.m.
The new queen will have the opportunity to represent the festivals association at various festivals throughout the state over the next year, something Silcox would love to do.
“That would be so fun to visit all the festivals in all the different counties in the state, whether as the queen or not,” Silcox said between classes earlier this week.
The lifelong Hancock County resident is looking forward to representing the Riley Festival, which celebrates native son James Whitcomb Riley, something Silcox said is an important part of the county’s heritage.
“That’s the great thing about these festivals in these various counties throughout the state: They often celebrate a bit of each county’s heritage,” she said.
Silcox is looking forward to meeting other festival representatives from throughout the state and learning about their events.
She’s also looking forward to the pageant, which will award not only a crown but scholarship money to the winner.
Silcox might be sidelined for the group choreography number, however, having recently torn a ligament in her leg during a high school volleyball game.
Regardless, she’s looking forward to helping serve as the host city for this year’s pageant and introducing fellow contestants to her hometown.
“I am very excited to meet these girls and share my town with them. Hopefully I’ll be able to show them around a bit and make them feel comfortable,” she said.
Alldredge hopes many of the visitors will make time to visit Greenfield’s historic downtown commercial district and do some shopping and dining while they’re there.
“We have a lot to offer,” she said.
If you go
The Indiana State Festivals Association Scholarship Pageant will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13 at Greenfield-Central High School.
The competition will feature 22 festival queens from around the state, including Riley Festival queen Lauren Silcox, a senior at Greenfield-Central High School.
The pageant queen for 2020 is Kendall Johnson from Newburgh, who represents that city’s Labor Day Association Festival.
Tickets for Saturday’s pageant are $10, and can be purchased at the door.
Information: indianafestivals.org/isfa-scholarship-pageant
