The United Irish Societies of Montreal (UISM) is gearing up for its annual queen selection evening for the upcoming 194th Saint Patrick’s Day parade, scheduled for March 19, 2017.
Since 1956, the UISM has selected a queen and princess for its parade.
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The selection evening is a public speaking contest where, according UISM spokesperson Kevin Murphy, 20 to 25 contestants answer questions on Montreal’s Irish heritage.
The event will take place on Feb. 4 and Plaza Centre-Ville, where the organization expects about 400 to 500 people to attend.
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“They are judged on their poise, how they handle themselves,” said Murphy.
“We take the best five [who are selected by] seven independent judges and they become the Queen and the Court for the whole Irish season.”
Their responsibility is to be representatives of the parade for the year.
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Carly Meredith was the parade’s queen two years and she remembers all too well what the experience was like.
“It’s a month or two months of craziness where we are going to all kinds of events around the community, visiting the children’s hospitals, going to balls and bonding as a court,” Meredith said.
The aim of having a parade queen and court is to encourage younger generations within the Irish community to know more about their heritage, according to Murphy.
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Contestants at the public speaking event must be single women between 18 and 25 years of age.
“One of the goals is to pass on the knowledge and the culture of our community to the younger generation and have them spread because they are our spokespeople for Irish season,” Murphy said.
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