ALBANY — Olivia Owens was chosen Saturday as Albany’s 2023 Tulip Queen from among five finalists. The coronation took place during Tulip Festival activities, which continue until early this evening.
Owens, 23, of Albany, is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a bachelor of arts in culture and business practices and a minor in communications. She graduated magna cum laude, maintaining a cumulative 4.0 GPA and is listed on the NCAA All–SEC Academic Team. Owens is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and is an eighth-grade math teacher who coaches modified girls’ basketball for the middle school. She plans to attend law school.
Her 75th Albany Tulip Court will be the other finalists: Mariah Carter, 19 of Albany; Victoria Clary, 23, of Albany; Haleigh Gaston, 22, of Latham; and Jadan Rivera, 22, of Albany.
After Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced she had been selected, Owens said she “was looking forward to working with these beautiful young ladies in this exciting year.”
Sheehan said Owens and the court would work on literacy initiative in the year ahead.
Owens takes over the Tulip Queen crown from Sam Mills, whose head was shorn, the locks donated to a charitable organization. “It’s been an honor to serve my community and the city I love so much,” Mills said.
Mayor Hubert Bruls of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, was at the front of the crowd to see Owens selected as Tulip Queen. Nijmegen is Albany’s sister city. Bruls led a delegation to attend the annual spring festival which celebrates Albany’s Dutch heritage.
Vanessa Owens was excited as she watched her daughter step forward on the Washington Park Lake House stage. Owens and her husband Javan Owens were at the event to cheer on their daughter.
“She grew up in Albany. The community supports her,” Vanessa Owens said.
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