Her mom first applied to be on the Rose Festival Court in her senior year of high school, but did not get on the program.

Her mother later got a job with Unitus Community Credit Union — one of the sponsors of the Portland Rose Festival — and since then, senior Cadence Wooden has been surrounded by aspects of the Rose Festival. She finally applied for the opportunity to be on the Rose Court after encouragement from her mother, and gained the same status of the people she had seen and conversed with many times before: a princess.

Last month, Wooden was announced to be one of 15 girls selected for the court of the upcoming Portland Rose Festival. Together, they represent high schools across the Portland Metro area, and each earned a $3,500 scholarship provided by The Randall Group, which applies to any accredited college, university, or trade program.

Wooden and the other princesses have been training with one-on-one mentors from Unitus Community Credit Union. These top women executives are working to prepare the princesses for upcoming events that allow them to make more connections, such as retirement home visits, helping kids, and seeing the mayor, which will kick off at the beginning of May.

It all started with an interview at Providence Hospital on Sunday, Feb. 4.

The interview lasted almost the entire day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Princesses are chosen based on varying traits, including character, communication skills, and presence, all of which are evaluated within the application process, speech, and interviews. Wooden prepared a speech, which had to be memorized without any sort of presentation aid, and recited it to the judges.

To prepare, Wooden spent almost every day leading up to the interview going over the speech, but her nerves persisted. After the interview took place, there was a follow-up Announcement Day on March 11 that revealed the four girls from each region who were selected as a part of the court.

“I just remember standing up there and like, you’re scared, shivering on the stage. But then they said my name,” Wooden said.

With the theme of the festival this year being “Dream Forward,” Wooden reflected on possibilities for the future in her speech, specifically 20 years from now. But first, she started with traditions of the past. “Going back all the way to when the Rose Festival first started, and then connecting it to how we can use social media, virtual reality, [and] sharing it to people beyond just Oregon,” she said. “My three main hit points [were] to cherish traditions, honor diversity, and celebrate unity.”

Each princess, despite their differences, has the same role as a part of the festival. “[We] showcase what we do and how we can add value to the world,” Wooden said. “[We] represent Portland and kind of spotlight how beautiful Portland is,” Wooden said.

Although it hasn’t been long since the court was finalized, Wooden relishes the bonds made thus far. She described it as a “sisterhood,” because of all the things they have to do together, such as getting ready, matching outfits, and more. “It’s almost like getting a new family,” she said.

“Jumping in this group, it was just an immediate click,” Wooden said, while also acknowledging the variety of interests — some differing and overlapping — that each princess brought into the group.

The strong connections between girls is an aspect of being on the court that Wooden appreciates the most, as well as the emphasis on women and how that contributes to their empowerment. More specifically, she appreciated the opportunity “to see femininity grow and be strong,” Wooden said.

Another way the Rose Court achieves this is their participation in networking events, which Wooden observes as a beneficial method to prepare herself for jumpstarting her career, while also emphasizing its significance for women as a whole by “show[ing] there’s women in the workforce that are ready to go,” she said.

Moving forward, there is still lots of work to be done for the festival as the year comes to an end, and Wooden’s schedule will get progressively busier.

On May 3, her grades will freeze, giving her the opportunity to leave school early so that she can focus on the program. From then on, there will be a family and friends event to demonstrate what they’ve been doing, as well as networking days — which can be as much as five times within a week — and parades every now and then in between.

Following her participation on the court is the Queen’s Coronation, which will take place on June 7. Only one of the fifteen princesses will be chosen as Queen, whose job is to represent the festival and Portland as a whole, not only within the state but also abroad. For example, the 2023 Rose Festival Queen Déja Fitzwater from Tigard High School went to Taiwan to connect with their sisterhood program.

Regardless of if she is chosen or not, “I’m still really grateful for the experience I’ve had,” Wooden said. “It’s such an amazing program.”