Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival
Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival
KMLF 2025 | May 22nd - 25th
Oh to be a Mountain Laurel Queen...
As the oldest festival in the state, we have a lot of traditions to be proud of, but none are as beloved or as old as the crowing of our festival Queen. Each year women represent every college and university from the Commonwealth for a chance to be crowned the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Queen. Yes, our little mountain community has been celebrating successful, educated women in Kentucky since 1931 with a pageant not solely focused on beauty, but on grace, manners, and representing your university well.
Over the years the pageant has blossomed into a 3 days long event, starting with an introduction speech to the community at the opening concert night, a series of fun private and public open houses, dinners, and events to get to know the people in the community. On Saturday, queens receive true royal treatment at the Gala Parade followed by the beautiful coronation event and ending with the Grand March and Queen's Ball. The coronation is something everyone should experience at least once, where the Queen candidates perform an elegant curtsy to the Governor, and stand in white ballgowns in front of the reflecting pool in the Laurel Cove Amphitheater. Here is where the Queen is finally announced. She dawns a nearly 100-year-old lace and pearl cape and carries an equally as old brass scepter. Then in a royal march goes through the amphitheater to kneel before the governor as they place a crown of live mountain laurel flowers upon her head.
Today Queen Candidates and the Reigning Queen receive scholarships to help them continue their education. There is also a Princess pageant for upperclassmen high school girls to represent Kentucky High Schools. The crowned Princess receives an educational scholarship as well.
The small town royal treatment
For candidates and their escorts, Pineville becomes home for the weekend. Candidates are invited into the homes of the community residents to stay with 'host families', where they get a true sense of southern Appalachian hospitality. Over the years, host families have become extended families to many as some candidates return year after year.
Candidates and their escorts attend luncheons, dinners, and events to get to mix and mingle with the community and directors of the festival. Each year the Queen's reception is in a different historic house in the community.
How to become a Queen Candidate?
Queen Candidates are currently enrolled or even recent gradutates of their persepective universities. Each university chooses their own candidate and the candidate's male escort differently, so unfortunately there is no way to apply here directly. Instead seek out student services or your college's public relations team. Some college's have an application system, choose someone in student leadership roles or a host pagent of their own to be decided. Other's operate on a first come, first serve system. Once you have recieved your University's approval, our arrangement committee will be working with you directly and let you know the format for everything - from the photography headshots to the outfits!
Other Interesting Queen Pageant
Information:
The judging panel is completely secret! Candidates are expected to mingle with everyone in hopes that some of them are judges and that they make a good impression.
The Grand March and Queen's Ball which are the last event of the evening on Saturday have been a favorite event of many, including famous eastern kentucky native Tyler Childers who even wrote a song "Queen's Ball".