By Abby Cianciolo
Photography Editor

Growing up in Westford, the Apple Blossom festival is the largest event that happens during the year. From the carnival to the parade, it’s a major highlight for local residents of Westford and neighboring towns.

For many young girls, it is a dream to one day become the Apple Blossom Queen. For senior Leah DeTolla, this dream came true last Saturday as she was named the 2013 Apple Blossom Queen.

“A lot of girls in Westford remember sitting at the parade as a little girl, waving to the old high school apple blossom candidates who could pass for princesses,” said DeTolla. “I’ve always had a little hope in the back of my mind that maybe someday I could ride in the parade too, but I never thought it would actually happen. ”

This hometown tradition has been around since 1935, originally put on by a small group of apple farmers from the community. The Queen that year was Phyllis Wright and the tradition of naming a queen yearly followed that first Apple Blossom Festival. The following year, the event spread to apple growers in all of the Nashoba Valley area.

The festival continued until 1937 and was then discontinued for many years following. In 1968, the Westford Kiwanis, a local community service organization, took over the event and restarted the tradition of the festival and the Apple Blossom Queen ceremony.

Being the Apple Blossom Queen is a huge honor, as many girls are nominated for the position.

“This year there were over 100 nominations and the contestants are nominated by their teachers,” said Westford Kiwanis Apple Blossom Chairman, Rick McNeil.

The other nominees for this year’s festival were Taylor Freud, Alaina Baker, Jillian Frankel, Casey Doremus, Amanda Lizine, Hannah Peternell, and Haley Bomal.

Selecting the queen is a large process and has its own special subcommittee dedicated to the decision.  As Kiwanis is a community service organization, the candidates’ dedication to community service and the community as a whole is a large factor in the decision making process.

“There’s an interviewing process that is based on their accomplishments and their community service, so it’s a whole blend of things that make up the qualifications,” said McNeil.

Leah DeTolla thought that she was a long shot for the Queen position and never imagined someday she would be even nominated. When she was announced the winner, DeTolla had a look of huge surprise, but was smiling through the shock.

“I never really considered actually winning. I was absolutely flustered, but thrilled,” said DeTolla.

Next year, Leah will be attending the University of Connecticut to study animal sciences. Since community service is a large part of being the Apple Blossom Queen and is so important to the Kiwanis organization, Leah hopes to give back to her community in college as well as in Westford.

“I hope to be back in Westford whenever I can, this is my home. This is my favorite place in the world,” said DeTolla.