The Rose of Kentucky will be crowned this weekend at the Rose Ball in the Red Mile Clubhouse starting at 7 p.m. March 9. The winner will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland.
Sponsored by the Lexington Celtic Association, the Kentucky Rose competition, a regional affiliate of the Rose of Tralee International Rose of Tralee International Festival competition, is a personality competition, not a traditional beauty pageant, for young women of Irish descent. The competition is based on a 19th-century ballad about a woman named Mary whose beauty earned her the title “Rose of Tralee.”
Contestants will be young unmarried women of Irish heritage who are between the ages of 18 and 27.
The Rose of Tralee International Festival draws tourists and contestants from around the globe to Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, to enjoy street entertainment, a carnival, live concerts, markets, fireworks and a parade. The heart of the festival is the crowning of the Rose of Tralee, who will travel the world as an ambassador of Irish culture.
