New Rose Queen Crowned in Theatre Style Coronation

The 96th Rose Queen was crowned in an official ceremony at First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena Thursday evening.

Rose Queen Ana Marie Acosta will reign over the 2014 Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game on January 1 with a glisten in her eye and a beaming smile. Queen Ana glowed as she received the crown in her glimmering white ball gown.

Returning to the theatre style coronation that 194o Rose Queen Margaret Huntley remembers, the Tournament of Roses combined the announcement of the Queen with her coronation for the first time, resulting in the princesses having to make quick costume changes.

The evening was emceed by CNN’s “New Day” news anchor Michaela Pereira. Tournament of Roses President Scott Jenkins made the announcement and ceremonially crowned Acosta with 600 pearls and six carats of diamonds.

“Dreams come true, don’t they ladies?” Jenkins said as he opened an envelope concealing the winner.

Queen Ana’s certainly came true as she joined the ranks of the 95 queens who reigned before her, many of whom attended the ceremony including the oldest living Rose Queen Margaret Huntley.

“I just cried, it’s a beautiful experience and I could relate very much to what she’s going through,” Huntley said who loved seeing Acosta crowned and remembered the days she was crowned in the Civic Auditorium.

Calling the other princesses her new sisters, Acosta of Polytechnic school was stunned to be chosen, “Just to be chosen as the queen is amazing because they all have queen qualities in them as well.”

Acosta’s father John Acosta escorted her to the coronation ceremony, while her mother Sara and sister Christina watched from the audience.

In their training over the last few weeks they have learned about etiquette, speech-making, waving, and how to have poise, but Acosta especially loved the little rules like: never, ever put a dirty utensil back on the plate.

An Altadena resident, seventeen year old Acosta is a dedicated equestrian rider who spends much of her free time with her horse City Slicker. During the program host Pereira revealed the crowned queen a terrible cook, with Acosta admitting after to ruining cakes all the time and barely being able to make mac’n’cheese.

“Growing up in Pasadena, the rose court have been amazing role models for me. Being able to fulfill that role feels amazing. They were so important to me as a kid and I know I’ll probably be an impact on young girls today and that means a lot to me,” Acosta said.

The announcement concludes a month-long process that began with more than 900 Pasadena-area young women who participated in the Royal Court tryouts.

The Rose Princesses who accompany the queen are Sarah Elizabeth Hansen, 19, Pasadena City College; Kayla Diyana Johnson-Granberry; 17, Pasadena High School; Jamie Ann Kwong, 17, La Salle High School; Katherine Diane Lipp, 17, La Cañada High School; Elyssia Hadi Widjaja, 17, San Marino High School; and Elizabeth Katie Woolf, 17, La Cañada High School.