Citrus Of The South Will Celebrate 89th Fiesta
Costumes reminiscent of the 1800s will be all the rage for the 89th Texas Citrus Fiesta (TCF) set for January of 2026. The TCF board voted unanimously on June 3 to adopt a theme of “Citrus of the South,” to celebrate the next citrus harvest.
“It will be like Bridgerton, and Scarlet O’Hara, that kind of era,” said Amy Tijerina, TCF executive director.
Bridgerton is a popular television series set in the early 1800s during England’s romantic Regency Era. Actress Scarlet O’Hara starred in “Gone With The Wind,” a historical romance film also set in the 1800s. The wardrobes of that time period featured long dresses with high empire waistlines, puffed sleeves, petticoats and hoop skirts, giving candidates for Princess Anna, Duchess or Queen Citrianna an abundance of ideas and details to work into their gowns.
Young ladies interested in competing for a royal title must submit a Princess Anna or Duchess pageant application no later than Friday, August 22 at the TCF office. The deadline for applications to vie for Queen Citrianna’s crown is September 17.
The TCF board voted recently to return to the practice of allowing high school seniors to compete for Duchess and Queen Citrianna. Last year’s application listed only sophomores and juniors as eligible; this year’s application shows high school ladies who are sophomores, juniors and seniors may enter the pageant.
“We saw that a lot of the seniors wouldn’t show up,” board president Amanda O’Caña explained. “Let’s say today they’re a senior, they’re going to compete this coming year, then they’re going to be in college when all the events are happening, and it was really difficult for them to go back and forth.”
“It’s very disheartening when the girls want to enter and are making the effort and not fair that we don’t give them an opportunity,” Tijerina said. “It’s about willingness and leadership and that’s what we’re looking for in our queen.”
The TCF Board includes Ted Prukop, who serves as a liaison from the Kings Association, and he served as a pageant judge before being named the 83rd King Citrus.
“When I was a judge, we asked some really strong candidates, ‘Could you fulfill the obligation of being queen for year?’ And if they said no, we just struck them,” Prukop said. “And they probably didn’t know why they lost.”
A contractual agreement is now in development by board secretary Kellye Ortega that will require each candidate to commit to attend all TCF events and earn the scholarship awarded to Queen Citrianna each year by the Kings Association.
“If you fulfill all of your duties with X number of appearances, then you get your scholarship at the end, and if you don’t, you don’t,” said board member Jennifer Ruiz Longoria. “You can’t crucify everyone because you had one bad queen, or even if you had three bad queens in a row. I’m sorry, then y’all chose judges that did not do a good job of interviewing the girl.”
“Choosing the judges is so important,” Longoria continued. “Back in the day, you needed to know your product and you needed to know the citrus industry and the fiesta history because you’re basically the voice of the industry.”
The selection of Queen Citrianna also came under board scrutiny. Some board members would like to keep the Kings Association and judging duties clear and separate. New board member April Flowers, attending her first TCF meeting, spoke up on that point. Her husband, TJ Flowers, and her father-in-law Jud Flowers, both served as King Citrus. April and Jud’s daughter, Summer Flowers, was named Queen Citrianna in 2006.
“As a mom of a girl going through, and being connected to the kings, I would rather it not be a king,” Flowers said. “Then you can’t connect dots that aren’t there, so I’d rather it not be a king.”
Tijerina said each board member should bring three names of people they want to nominate as judges to the August TCF meeting, and Prukop should also recommend three citrus-related industry individuals who have not served as King Citrus.
“Moving forward, this is the way we will pick judges,” Tijerina said. “Each board member will provide three names, and I will review why you picked those judges and make a decision on what I think is best for TCF; I will pick the judges from the list you all provide me, and no one will know the judges besides me. I want everyone to know that this is fair.”
Mission EDC’s accountant Joe Salazar, who also manages the books for TCF, reported a fund balance of about $105,838, but O’Caña is not wasting time when it comes to fundraising efforts.
The board unanimously approved O’Caña’s plan to hold a skeet shoot at Mission Skeet and Trap Club on April 25, 2026, with the goal of it becoming an annual fundraiser.
“In my opinion it’s a win-win, with very little effort other than getting food there,” O’Caña said. “Shooters bring their own equipment and safety gear, so on the TCF side, it’s more of us helping the day of the shoot.”
The board is also nailing down details for the Fun Fair, set for January 30 and 31, 2026 at Bentsen Palm Community Park. Board member Scott Gerlach will manage the logistics of the Fun Fair which will offer a carnival, food trucks and live bands.
All board members are expected to bring at least one fiesta sponsor to the table and contribution levels range from $2500 to $10,000.
“So many changes are happening and it’s a great and positive thing,” O’Caña said. “We unveiled a new float, it was windy and hot, but it was fun to see the community there.”
TCF revealed the new float three weeks ago, and it bears a new logo. Current Queen Citrianna Elle Holbrook and King Citrus Lance Neuhaus were on hand to inspect the float before it makes its debut in the Parade of Oranges on January 31, 2026, with a new court on board.
O’Caña described the float as an “iconic Item.”
“There’s a lot of tradition and a lot of history here within the city of Mission,” O’Caña said. “Not everyone gets to do other Texas Citrus Fiesta Events and when they see the float, that’s synonymous with the Texas Citrus Fiesta, and I’m glad we’ve got something new to share with the community.”
TCF’s previous float is being maintained by the organization and the Kings Association will use it to join the Parade of Oranges.
