WHEREAS, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, a joyous rite of spring for residents of the Shenandoah Valley held each year in Winchester, commemorates its 100th anniversary in 2024; and

WHEREAS, the first Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival was on May 3, 1924, and featured a parade through Winchester, the crowning of the first Queen Shenandoah by the Prince of Apple Blossoms, and an interpretive dance program; and

WHEREAS, over the history of the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, 86 individuals have been crowned Queen Shenandoah; initially produced by the John B. Rogers Production Company, the pageant was written and directed from 1931 to 1959 by Dr. Garland Quarles, superintendent of Winchester Public Schools and principal of John Handley High School in Winchester; and

WHEREAS, as the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival's pageant grew in later years to include upwards of 1,000 students from Winchester and the surrounding counties of West Virginia, the event gained a national reputation for its extraordinary beauty and grandeur; and

WHEREAS, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival featured its first Torch Light and Mummers' Parade on April 18, 1929, a tradition that would develop into what is today the Firefighters' Parade, the nation's oldest and largest parade of its kind, in which fire companies from throughout the east coast exhibit both antique and cutting-edge firefighting equipment for the enjoyment of festival attendees; and

WHEREAS, in 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson became the first United States president to attend the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, followed some years later by President Gerald R. Ford; the event has drawn major celebrities since the 1940s to serve as Grand Marshal of the Grand Feature Parade, as well as Firefighters' Marshal or Sports Marshal in later years; and

WHEREAS, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival has continued to add new events and traditions over the years, including a 10 kilometer race in 1982, a bluegrass festival in 1990, a professional-amateur golf tournament in 1995, and many more, growing from a one-day ceremony to what is today a nine-day celebration; and

WHEREAS, the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is organized by the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the beauty of springtime and the apple blossoms in the Commonwealth's Shenandoah Valley through events and initiatives that enhance community spirit and showcase the region's local agricultural heritage; and

WHEREAS, the success of the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is the result of the innumerable volunteers and staff whose tireless efforts over the years have made the festival the preeminent event in Winchester and a highlight of every new spring; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival hereby be commended on the occasion of its 100th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, Inc., as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the event's history and its significance in the life and culture of Winchester and the Shenandoah Valley.