Sunday night’s coronation created three new members of Litchfield’s royal family — Miss Litchfield Karly Nelson and princesses Kaitlynn Beighley and Autumn Raiber. But after being crowned, the girls felt more like rock stars than royalty.
“I got like 30 texts and tons of Facebook messages,” Nelson said with a laugh.
Raiber agreed, adding that she received messages and comments from community members she has never even spoken to before.
“We’re just thankful that we have that kind of closeness in our community that they are totally comfortable just texting you out of the blue, saying congratulations,” she said.
The notes of praise were well earned — the girls competed against six other candidates to earn their crowns Sunday night at Bernie Aaker Auditorium. Outgoing royalty members, Miss Litchfield Ali Richardson and princesses Erika Hart and Emily Schreiber — gave their farewell addresses to the crowd and then each crowned their replacements.
Nelson also was named Miss Congeniality, and candidate Kaitlyn Lundin won the formal gown award.
For all three girls, the crowning was the most nerve-wracking part of coronation — even worse than the segment where they answer random questions out of a fishbowl, they said.
“I think all of our pinkies were held so close together that we couldn’t move,” Raiber said, adding that she was thankful she was crowned first so she didn’t have to wait any longer to know if she would receive a crown or not.
Nelson, who was crowned last of the three, said the wait was almost unbearable.
“I was last. It was like, either I am getting something or I’m getting nothing,” she said. “I wasn’t nervous until the crowing. My heart was fine and then all of a sudden, when we were holding hands, my heart just started going, ‘ba-boom ba-boom.’”
All three girls also said the moment the crown was placed atop their heads felt surreal.
“I didn’t think it was real at first. I was very surprised I got picked,” Beighley said.
Luckily, the girls had last year’s royalty at their sides to remind them to walk to the front of the stage and wave at the crowd.
“I know this sounds cliché, but I thought I was dreaming, and (Richardson) was like, Karly, you’re the queen. Now go up there,’” Nelson said. “And then after, when everyone walked off the stage that was a part of it, I just looked at (the princesses) and was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is it. We are royalty.’
“We were definitely overwhelmed, but with joy I think,” Nelson added.
Nelson, 18, plans to attend North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., this fall to pursue a degree in nursing and eventually a career as a midwife. Beighley, 18, plans to attend South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D., to pursue a degree in nursing. Raiber, 17, plans to attend Ridgewater College in Hutchinson with hopes of becoming a counselor.
The girls picked different Watercade events as their favorite, but each event included children having a blast and looking up the the royalty and candidates.
“(My favorite) was the beach party because we got to play with the little kids on the beach and really get our names out there,” Raiber said. “That’s where the community really gets involved.”
Nelson said her favorite event was the Prince and Princess for a Day event, where children dress up like royalty and participate in a royal introduction. Beighley said her favorite event was the kiddie parade on Saturday morning.
“That was really fun. There were a lot of neat costumes,” Beighley said. “When I was little and we did it, it wasn’t that extravagant.”
The girls said they are excited to represent Litchfield this coming year, and meet new people at upcoming parades and events. The girls’ first parade is Saturday in New London, Minn.
Nelson is also excited for “encouraging the next couple of generations of girls to run, because it is worth it whether you win or not.”
Beighley agreed, stating just being a candidate allowed her to be involved with so many new activities and programs in the community that she otherwise might not have.
“It was a great experience,” she said.
Raiber added that she is thankful for the sponsors and community members for all of the support over the last few months.
“Thanks for the community for being so supportive and cheering on every candidate,” Raiber said.
Copyright 2015 Litchfield Independent Review/Crow River Media/Media News Group.