Sequim’s queen and her court were selected for the 40th time on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Sequim Irrigation Festival’s Scholarship Pageant.

Karla Najera will represent Sequim and the festival as queen for its 122nd year, which remains the longest running consecutive festival in Washington.

She’s joined on the festival royalty court by Princesses Alison Cobb, Abby Norman and Emily Straling.

See photos from the event here.

To win, the girls participated in 10-minute private interviews with judges on Feb. 9, answered impromptu questions, shared a creative display and were rated on demeanor in evening gowns.

Also in the running for spots on the royalty court were Kyla Armstrong, Cortney Gosset and Aubree Young.

The 2017 court represents Sequim at various events and at least 14 parades throughout the year including the Irrigation Festival’s Grand Parade on May 13.

Once they finish their reign, Najera will receive a $1,000 scholarship and the princesses $750 each for their service.

On Saturday, last year’s royalty court — Queen Victoria Hall, Princesses Tatum Jensen, Hailey Kapetan and Dana Nguyen — were honored for their community service by Sequim Mayor Dennis Smith, who read a proclamation from the City of Sequim and a letter from President Barack Obama. (Serving 2,406 hours within the community, the court shattered the previous service record of 330 community service hours.)

The pageant also included the Castell Insurance-sponsored Miss Congeniality award, presented to Norman.

The Junior Royalty was also crowned Saturday, including Malachi Byrne and Ainsley Short from Greywolf Elementary School and Warren Nichols and Ava Lawless from Helen Haller Elementary School.

After high school, Najera plans to become a midwife, Cobb a casting director, Norman a pediatrician and Straling a broadcast journalist.

In the coming year, they’ll share their platforms with the community. Najera’s platform includes celebrating diversity by visiting local elementary schools with fun exercises, and Cobb wants to “Adopt a grandparent” and visit an assisted living community and greet residents. Norman plans to host a blood drive at Sequim High School, and Straling wants to raise awareness about mental health at the Sequim School District.

The Sequim Irrigation Festival’s kick-off dinner begins at 5 p.m. March 25 at 7 Cedars Casino Club Seven, where the festival float is revealed at 4:45 p.m. Tickets cost $80 and are available at Sound Community Bank, RE/MAX Prime &Cherry Creek Mortgage and the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, visit www.irrigationfestival.com.

The 2017 Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty includes, from left, Princess Abby Norman, Princess Emily Straling, Queen Karla Najera and Princess Alison Cobb. They were selected from seven contestants at the festival’s Royalty Pageant on Feb. 11, in Sequim High School Auditorium. This year’s festival, with the theme “122 skies of blue,” celebrates its 122nd consecutive year and runs May 5-14. See story and more photos on A-3. See a slideshow from the evening’s events at www.sequimgazette.com.

During the creative display performance, Karla Najera shares a traditional dance on Feb. 11 for the Sequim Irrigation Festival’s Scholarship Pageant. As queen, she plans to share a platform called “Celebrating Diversity” in the next year with local elementary schools.

The Sequim Irrigation Festival’s Junior Royalty were crowned on Saturday. They include, from left, Malachi Byrne, Ainsley Short, Warren Nichols and Ava Lawless. Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash