2023 Key Bank Tulip Ambassadors

Congratulations to the winners of the annual Key Bank Tulip Ambassador contest: Conway Elementary fifth grader, Carter See, and fourth grader, Harper McCown! The ambassadors are both excited to take on their new roles. “I’m really excited ... really pumped,” said Harper. Carter said he was surprised to be chosen. “It was so much fun hugging friends and coming up on stage,” he said.

This was the first time the Tulip Ambassador program has been held since 2020; about 100 people attended the competition at La Conner’s Maple Hall on February 9. Approximately 40 fourth and fifth-graders from around the county participated. To choose the best two candidates, each participant was asked to tell a panel of judges why he or she wanted to be a Tulip Ambassador and answer a “mystery” question such as: “What is your favorite subject in school and why?” This year Miss Washington, Regan Gallo, joined the event. Said Tulip Festival Executive Director Cindy Verge, “We were excited to have her help with the event. All our candidates enjoyed meeting her.”

Each year, Verge and her team make presentations to 700 plus children at local elementary schools in the second half of January to encourage children to participate in the competition. Said Cindy, “It’s delightful. There are children here in Skagit County that are very, very proud of where they live and (of) the tulips and the Tulip Festival and they want to participate. The program helps keep kids involved in the festival.”

The ambassadorship is a great opportunity for students to get involved in their community and share their pride with visitors. The ambassadors will make appearances throughout the festival in their roles representing the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, including greeting visitors at the annual PACCAR Technical Center open house (April 15 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.), appearing on local radio stations, riding in the start of the Tulip Parade (April 8 at 2 p.m.), presenting the governor with a festival poster in Olympia, and attending the Tulip Festival Gala (March 25 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.).

The Tulip Festival youth competition began as the “Little Miss Tulip” contest. Today the event is open to all children currently attending fourth or fifth grade in Skagit County and has become a search for “Tulip Ambassadors.” Two official Tulip Ambassadors – one boy and one girl - are chosen each February by a five-panel judging team from the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Board of Directors who rank the answers by the candidates. The Tulip Festival organization works to make the tryouts a special occasion for the kids.

2022 Winner: Nicole Long