Seven Jackson County high school senior girls will compete for a college scholarship and the honor of serving as queen of the 2025 Pear Blossom Festival in Medford. 

The 35th Annual Scholarship Competition will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22, in the auditorium at North Medford High School, 1900 N. Keene Way Drive.

This year’s Pear Blossom princesses are Ivy Clason from Ashland High; Kaiya Billings from Crater High; Gessell Moctezuma from Eagle Point High; Mira Jacobs from Logos Charter School; Paije Carpenter from North Medford High; Amanda LeDoux from Rogue River High; and Paige Schiffer from South Medford High.

The young women will be judged on school leadership skills, academic achievement, community involvement, an interview with the judges, writing and presenting an essay, and answering impromptu questions on stage.

The contestants were selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants. Top-five candidates at each school were winnowed down by the festival’s Senior Royalty Committee, then each school selected their princess from the finalists.

Each princess will be awarded a $750 scholarship. The contestant crowned queen will receive a $2,750 scholarship and be featured in the Pear Blossom parade April 12 in downtown Medford.

Since its inauguration in 1991 — the brainchild of the late Patti Bills, Darcey Mann-Self, and Val James — the Pear Blossom Festival Association has given out over $200,000 in scholarships to more than 250 young women in our community.

Dancers from Evergreen Ballroom will perform on Saturday and three couples will compete for cash prizes for the People’s Choice Award.

For more information about the pageants and the 71st annual Pear Blossom Festival, see pearblossomparade.org.