EAST PEORIA — The newly crowned Festival of Lights Queen Amira Dvorak and first and second runners-up Bella Duckworth and Salem Tabacchi were introduced Tuesday during the city’s city council meeting.
Dvorak, Duckworth, and Tabacchi are all seniors at East Peoria Community High School
“I’m beyond grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I hope I can succeed,” Dvorak said.
Dvorak will reign over all 2025 Festival of Lights activities, appear at community events in 2026, and crown the 2026 Festival of Lights Queen. She will also receive a $1,000 scholarship. The Queen and her court will ride on a float during the 41st Parade of Lights, scheduled for Nov. 22.
Pageant Coordinator Jennifer Cowen also introduced the first Festival of Lights Little Princess, Zianna Ngiraibiochel.
“This year, we were so excited to have a Little Princess pageant,” Cowen said. “We had a maximum of 15 girls, and we ended up with 14. It was a lot of fun, and it was a very, very tough way to find our Little Princess.”
Ngiraibiochel, a third-grade student at Paul L. Bolin School, thanked the community for selecting her as the Festival’s inaugural Little Princess.
“I’m excited to crown the next Little Princess next year,” she added.
Following the presentation, East Peoria Mayor John Kahl proclaimed Nov. 29 to be Small Business Saturday in the city. He noted that the 34.7 small businesses in the United States account for 99.7% of all businesses nationwide, are responsible for 61.1% of new jobs created since 1995, and employ 45.9% of private sector workers nationwide.
“Consumers who plan to shop on Small Business Saturday said the day inspires them to go to small, independently owned retailers or restaurants that they have not been to before, or would not have otherwise tried,” Kahl said. East Peoria … supports our local businesses that create jobs, boost our local economy, and preserve our communities.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: East Peoria Festival of Lights queen and court introduced at city council meeting
Reporting by Mike Kramer, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
