For the last 63 years, the Almond Blossom Queen & Miss Ripon Competition has been a vital part of the Almond Blossom Festival. We always begin the application process in the Fall and host various events and activities up until the Annual Almond Blossom Festival at the end of February. The competition is open to high school juniors who either currently live in Ripon or attend a Ripon school. Queen candidate events include the raffle ticket sale, judges’ interview, speech contest, fashion show, essay writing, parade appearances, and MORE! Candidates are graded by our 3 judges in various different categories based on their performance at each of the events. Our winner is then crowned at Coronation in February on the Thursday that the Almond Blossom Festival begins. The winner of the Miss Almond Blossom competition becomes Miss Ripon and reigns for the following year (her high school senior year) until the next candidate is crowned queen. Miss Ripon serves as a public figure and volunteer at all of our Chamber of Commerce events. This is a competition is one that is steeped in tradition and history that seeks to build confidence in young women of our community.