Eagle Rock High School Senior Crowned 108th Rose Queen!

A tiara, a bouquet of red roses and a very wide smile defined the moment in Pasadena. An Eagle Rock High School senior was crowned the 108th Rose Queen, and the broadcast image captured the instant the crown went on. A man in a red Tournament of Roses jacket and white gloves set the tiara in place while the honoree beamed. Around her, members of the Rose Court stood in matching green dresses, each holding an armful of long-stemmed red roses.

The Tournament of Roses had announced the 2027 Rose Court on Sept. 28, with the 108th Rose Queen named and crowned on Oct. 27. The queen and her court will ride down Colorado Boulevard in the 138th Rose Parade and attend the 113th Rose Bowl Game, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal, both set for Jan. 1, 2027.

For Eagle Rock, the moment carries extra weight. Applicants must be high school seniors or full-time college students with at least a 2.0 GPA who live and attend school in the Pasadena area, a region that includes Eagle Rock. Local coverage earlier this fall noted that an Eagle Rock High finalist would be the first Northeast L.A. woman to make the court since 2012, when the Tournament briefly considered seniors from Eagle Rock and Highland Park.

The honor comes with tangible rewards. Each Rose Court member receives a $7,500 educational scholarship, and members also get wardrobe and other benefits. The title also brings months of appearances, with the court serving as local ambassadors for the Tournament of Roses at dozens of events before New Year's Day.

The tradition is a long one. The queen's title dates back to 1905, and the pageant has crowned a new young woman nearly every year since, apart from 2021, when the parade was cancelled. Each queen becomes the public face of one of Southern California's best-known New Year's traditions.

The next stop for the new queen is the parade itself, where millions of viewers will watch the court roll past the crowds on Colorado Boulevard. For now, the crowning is a milestone for her school and neighborhood..