The Crown is Calling: 2025 Holtville Carrot Festival Royalty Candidates Shine in Speech Competition
Nine-year old Leyda Martinez, one of the Junior Princess candidates for this year's Carrot Festival, bravely kicked off the speech competition Thursday evening, January 16th, inside the Holtville Civic Center.
Leyda wrote her speech about overcoming learning how to do the splits. “Some of my friends asked me if I could do the splits, I replied to my friend and said no, but I tried to do them anyway. I went home that day and started practicing the splits,” said Leyda.
“I knew it would be a challenge for me, but I also knew that by practicing so hard, I would be able to make a split, and I did it. I know it was not that perfect, but I was very very proud of myself and I did my best, I also taught my friends how to do the splits,” said Leyda. Leyda used this example to show that she was able to learn a new skill and share that skill with her friends simply by working hard and being consistent.
Thursday night’s speech competition was the second step in determining which young ladies will be crowned Queen, Princess and Junior Princess at the Annual 2025 Holtville Carrot Festival. Fifty percent of the girl’s scores derive from raffle ticket sales, twenty-five percent from their speech scores and the final twenty-five percent from their live interview scores, which took place in front of a panel of judges on Saturday, January 18th at the Holtville Civic Center.
The candidates’ speech scores were based on a 100 point scale that was broken down into several categories: general appearance, voice projection to the audience, voice control, articulation, language effectiveness, organization, overall quality, as well as time limits.
The panel of judges included Donna Schoneman, Chandler Sinclair and Vivian Yacopi. Donna is a former English teacher at Brawley Union High School and Holtville High School, Chandler Sinclair is the Finance Manager for the City of Holtville and Vivian is the Universal Prekindergarten Academic Advisor for the Imperial County Office of Education.
Tammy Summers was the speech coach for the 2025 Carrot Royalty candidates. She received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from UC San Diego and later received her Master’s of Arts degree in Business Administration where she began to grow her public speaking skills. She is the founder of Leadership Learners, based in the Imperial Valley and San Diego, to help organizations build their leadership and communication skills.
Aside from nine year old Junior Princess candidate Leyda Martinez, eight year old Victoria Schaffner, eleven year old Avery May Sutter and ten year old Jocelyn Wells also competed at the speech competition for the Junior Princess title. Twelve year old Grace Cerda, fourteen year old Jade Mia Gutierrez competed for the Princess title, and seventeen year old Ivy Alvarez, sixteen year old Yaneli Lopez and sixteen year old Aileen Salorio competed for the Queen title.
Jocelyn Wells, Junior Carrot Princess candidate, wrote her speech about overcoming her challenges with math. “I’ve always struggled with math, in fact, I still do. Learning to divide was scary, however my fourth grade teacher Ms.Riley has really helped me to understand that division is not as hard as I thought.”
Jocelyn’s mother, Shannon Wells, was cheering her on from the audience,” I felt like she did a fantastic job even though she was completely nervous. She took the time to breathe so she wouldn’t rush. Me and her dad are so proud that she’s doing this, because it’s out of her comfort zone.”
Grace Cerda, Carrot Princess candidate, expressed her desire for a dog park to be built in Holtville in her speech. “I have two dogs Sydney and Rex, and they love to run around and play, but our backyard is too small. We could build this dog park with lots of space and different activities to keep our furry friends entertained,” said Grace.
She goes on to discuss how the dog park will also benefit the community. “Community members who own dogs will also benefit themselves by bringing their dogs and socializing with others. There are not a lot of public places for people to meet and socialize in Holtville. The dog park can be an opportunity to meet someone new or a place for friends to catch up,” said Grace.
“The theme for this year’s Carrot Festival is “Hop on the Carrot Express,” which pays homage to the Holton Interurban Railway through a youthful portrayal of the train’s significance as a driving force for economic development in the early 1900s,” said Rosie Allegranza, Executive Director at the Holtville Chamber of Commerce.
Ivy Alvarez, Carrot Queen candidate, dedicated her speech to the father of the Imperial Valley and founder of Holtville, William F. Holt, as she grew inspiration from his successes, including the Hilton Interurban Railway, “By setting goals and being innovative, strong hearted and dedicated, Mr.Holt was able to create something very special for himself and others,” said Ivy.
“Mr.Holt is an example of how one person can make a big difference in this world, we can all follow his example and apply it to our own lives, which leads me to ask, what do I want for my future and the future of the Imperial Valley,” said Ivy.
Ivy expressed her passion for agriculture throughout her speech, and included how that led her to wanting to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness at UC Davis so that she can use those skills to enhance and grow the agricultural landscape of the Imperial Valley, in honor of William F. Holt.
Ivy’s mother, Christina Uriarte, proudly sat in the audience at the speech competition on Thursday night. “We are so excited for this opportunity. She worked really hard on her speech, came to practice and really put her heart into it. We’re really glad and happy to be here.”
Successful Carrot Junior Princess, Carrot Princess and Carrot Queen candidates will be crowned on January 31st at 6:00 PM at the 78th Annual Carrot Festival Coronation and Citizen of the Year Banquet at the IV Swiss Club in Holtville.
