Each May, colleges and universities from Kentucky select one representative to participate in the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival which is held over Memorial Day weekend.

Each year since 1931, the participating candidates attend the festival, held in Pineville, Ky. During the coronation ceremony, each candidate is expected to perform an original and elaborate 15 second curtsey to the current Kentucky governor, who later crowns the queen.

OPENING NIGHT THURSDAY MAY26, 2022