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Cherry Blossom Queen

Posted on March 12, 2024   |   Updated on September 30, 2025
Kaela Cote-Stemmermann

Kaela Cote-Stemmermann

Choosing a Cherry Blossom Queen in 1956.

Choosing a Cherry Blossom Queen in 1956. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Every year, 55 Cherry Blossom Princesses - each representing a state, U.S. territory, or D.C. - head to D.C. for a week of schmoozing and carousing. This culminates in the Cherry Blossom Grand Ball, where one woman wins the title of Cherry Blossom Queen via a spin of the “wheel of fortune.”

The program began in 1948 as a cultural exchange between the U.S. and Japan to honor the friendship fostered by the gift of cherry blossom trees to the U.S. in 1912. Whoever is chosen as “Her Majesty” receives a free, 10-day trip to Japan, where she makes public appearances with Japan’s Cherry Blossom Queen.

In this photo, Mae Allen, Miss New Hampshire, grabs her head in shock thinking she won the crown. But the wheel had actually stopped in the blank space next to New Hampshire. After a second spin, Miss Montana was selected. Such a letdown!

Also, if flouncing around D.C. in a pink sash sounds like your thing, they are still accepting applications for 2024!

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