By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current

Eliza Farley was crowned queen at the 2022 Music Festival Queen Pageant sponsored by Geneseo Rotary Club, and she recently shared some thoughts about the experience.

Farley, daughter of George and Gail Farley, said, “I would recommend that all senior girls consider this opportunity to be involved in their community and in an event that is larger than oneself – this is what the Rotary Club is all about and what truly changed my perspective on pageants from my first one in 2017 to now. Keeping the tradition alive is also something that heavily influenced me. The weekend is enjoyable for those who place in the pageant and for those who don’t; it really is low stakes and beginner friendly!”

The annual pageant is open to Geneseo High School graduating senior girls and scholarship money is awarded to the winners.

Farley admits that prior to the Music Festival event; she didn’t think she would ever being doing another pageant after her previous experience in the Henry County Fair Pageant.

“The first and only time I had done a pageant before competing in the Music Festival Queen Pageant was the summer of 2017, when I participated in the Henry County Fair Pageant…I didn’t think I was ever going to do a pageant again, since the whole time I was in preparation for the County Pageant, I had no clue what was going while the other, more experienced girls seemed to know everything about interviews, public speaking, and presence. Why I thought I would sweep the stage was beyond me, but my mindset immediately defaulted to, ‘well if I don’t win then I guess I’m not cut out for pageants!’

Fast forward five summers and Miss Farley said she felt she had grown more as a woman and she decided that doing the Music Festival Queen pageant “would be fun,”

She said, “I thought it was only a weekend of my time, I could earn some scholarship money, would have the opportunity to wear my Prom dress one more time, and most importantly, I was participating with my own classmates. This made the pageant less nerve racking, as no unfamiliar faces would be present.”

“Having the experience with my classmates made the weekend of festivities even more enjoyable,” Farley said. “Although the 12 girls who participated in the pageant may not have been my best friends growing up, we all either participated in the same activities, had classes together, or shared mutual friends over our time in Geneseo schools. All of us got along terrific, laughed easily together, and bonded over the fact that none of us were experienced in pageants. At its heart competing in a pageant with your classmates made me less worried about whether I placed or not, but instead wishing the best for my friends.”

In recalling the night of the pageant last summer, Farley described it as “bustling and exciting! Although I was a bit anxious, I knew that in the end the results of the pageant did not matter because I was doing this with my friends and in front of a familiar audience, the people of Geneseo.”

She said when she was crowned Queen, she was filled with joy and excitement in anticipation of the weekend that was ahead…“Saturday and Sunday were spent attending different events that were hosted at the park, such as Jazzercise, Maple City Band, and all of the vendors. Sunday, my court and I visited the Fathers Day Fly-In Breakfast at the airport. The parade was held after breakfast, and being on the float representing the Rotary Club and the town of Geneso was magical! I felt adored watching the young girls that truly thought we were Queens, and the adults I know that beamed with pride.”

When asked about her year reigning as the Music Festival Queen, Farley said she has “grown even more as an adult.”

She attends the University of Illinois at Chicago, and said, “Life is so much different in the city that I’m actually quite happy to be home for the summer.”

She currently does not have a major declared, but said she is considering the field of business, specifically project management. Last fall she joined a sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau, and is the Director of Collegiate-Alumnae Engagement and also the Director of Fundraising for the University’s Collegiate Pan-Hellenic Council.

She also joined the UIC’s Women’s Rugby Club, which Farley said “might come as a surprise to most people considering I would never categorize myself as an athlete! Over the winter break I made it home for the Lighted Christmas Walk Parade, but unfortunately with other things I was occupied with at the time, I forgot the “lighted” part of it!”

The reigning queen and court are invited to be part of the annual Lighted Parade held during Christmas Walk night in Geneseo.

In the spring she started working as a hostess at an upscale restaurant, which meant she had to put rugby on the back burner, but plans to rejoin the team in the fall.

She will return to UIC for her sophomore year and said she hopes to join even more extracurricular to make her more well rounded, “and again, be a part of something that is larger than myself.”

“If there is one thing that I would take away from the pageant, it is being involved in your community and being a part of events makes you a more knowledgeable, wiser, and compassionate person,” she said. “When I was younger and did that first Henry County Fair Pageant, I didn’t fully understand the purpose of competition. It’s not about winning, but the experience gained, people you meet, and how you better yourself while representing others.”