Arts & Entertainment
The Northern Ohio Rose of Tralee Pageant Is Making its Way to Crocker Park
The winner of this event will receive a free trip to Ireland and continue on in an international pageant.
International distinction and invaluable opportunities await this year’s winner of the Northern Ohio Rose of Tralee Pageant.
Unmarried women of Irish descent, ages 18 to 27, will be able to apply for the pageant and vie for a contestant slot, said executive coordinator Regina Costello.
“This is a not a beauty pageant at all. What we’re looking for really is an ambassador,” she said. “A young woman who is confident, assertive and proud of her Irish heritage … We need someone who is very confident, very outgoing, very personable and someone who is genuinely interested in Ireland. If she plays her cards right, she can really launch her adult life at this festival. It could really open doors.”
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There’s no entry fee, the application deadline is April 15. Every contestant receives a prize.
The winner of the pageant, set for May 6 at , receives a free trip to Ireland to compete in the Rose of Tralee International Festival North American Regional Finals in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland from June 2-6, Costello said.
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While overseas, the winner will join other semi-finalists from North America, travel the countryside, meet Irish officials and heads of state and be wined and dined at premier restaurants.
Winners who are selected at the Regional Finals in Portlaoise will advance to the Rose of Tralee International Festival in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland from Aug. 19-23. Click here for a video detailing the contest.
Westlake World Partners, a nonprofit organization set up to help run the contest and handle expenses for the winner's trip to Ireland, is one of the main sponsors of the Crocker Park event, which will include Irish entertainment, dancing and Celtic cuisine.
Led by Mayor Dennis Clough, Westlake City Council President Michael Killeen, Thomas Scanlon, school board member Nate Cross and Brett Luengo, the group played an integral role in bringing the local competition back to northern Ohio.
With efforts spearheaded by Luengo, Westlake established its connection with Tralee, in part, because it mirrors the west side suburb’s population structure and economic background, she said.
Costello and her staff will begin interviewing applicants April 23.