The Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen and Little Miss Spat competition is a tradition that dates back to 1960. What would become the Urbanna Oyster Festival was only 4 years old when the first festival queen and little miss spat were crowned on a flatbed trailer on the day of the festival.
As the festival has evolved over the years, so has the selection of the queen and little miss spat (a spat is a baby oyster). What was once a beauty pageant is now a scholarship-based competition. The queen contestants must be high school seniors and residents of Middlesex County. Each queen contestant mentors a first-grade co-contestant as her little miss spat.
The queen and little miss spat competition starts early in the spring, continues through the summer and extends until the crowning takes place on Friday of the festival.
The queen contestants are judged in five areas:
- Individual community service project
- Individual judges interviews
- Academic achievement
- A spontaneously written response to a random question
- Overall participation in the competition
The spat contestants are judged separately from the queen contestants in the following areas:
- Participation at an ice cream social and a tea party
- Individual judges interviews
- Overall participation
The foundation of this competition is character building and community service. Each queen contestant must volunteer a minimum of 25 hours benefiting Middlesex. This year’s queen and spat contestants have volunteered well more than the required time, completing more than 496 hours and donating more than $19,998 for the betterment of the community.
Scholarships for the queen contestants have been made possible by the generosity of local businesses. Queen competition sponsors include Bethpage Camp-Resort, Bon Secours Health, C&F Bank, Dr. C. Ben Lennon, Faulkner Funeral Homes-Bristow-Faulkner Chapel-Saluda, Grey’s Point Camp, Jason and Emilie Rowe, J&W Seafood, Riverside Walter Reed Hospital, Rosegill Development LLC, Primus (formerly called Sonabank), Thurston Properties, Thurston Spring Service, River Wood Works, Holtzman Propane and Ryman’s A/C and Heating.
Sponsors for the little miss spat competition are River Birch Nursery, Unique Golf Carts, Massey Urbanna Builders’ Supply and Ferguson Oyster Co.-Retail Seafood Market.
Following this introduction is the first of four queen and little miss spat contestant duo profiles being featured in the Sentinel. In coming weeks, the three additional queen and little miss spat contestant duo profiles will be presented.
The 2021 queen and little miss spat will be crowned on Friday, Nov. 5, at the Urbanna firehouse.
Queen-little spat duos work hard fundraising
Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen Contestant Kendall Lucas and Little Miss Spat Caroline Enstminger have dedicated their time this summer to raising awareness about the rare disease Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). Kendall and Caroline chose to raise awareness about OI because their family had never heard about it until Caroline was diagnosed with it before birth.
People born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta have a collagen deficiency, causing their bones to be brittle. There are six types of OI and all rank differently in severity. Enstminger was born with Type 3 severe and Type 4 moderate OI. The girls conducted bake sales, face painting, an eye screening, and volunteered at a local thrift store to help raise funds and take time to educate community members on OI. All of their fundraisers were spread out within the summer during the times of June 25 to Aug. 7.
When greeting people at their fundraisers Kendall would start off by introducing herself and her spat Caroline. She then would continue to explain how the money donated would be going to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, and offer a pamphlet with information on OI and a bracelet with the website and the motto Unbreakable Spirit.
Earlier before starting their project Kendall contacted the foundation to ask them for official informational pamphlets about OI, and to inform the foundation about her project. The foundation responded with great enthusiasm knowing there would be someone to spread the word on OI. The foundation then sent Lucas pamphlets, bracelets, and pens with their official website, and their Unbreakable Spirit motto.
The girls conducted two bake sales, one on June 26 at the Deltaville Flea Market, with the help of the Middlesex County Volunteer Rescue Squad (MCVRS) Ladies Auxiliary. They then went on to have a face painting table at the Urbanna Town Marina on July 2 at the fireworks display. July 22 was a day spent volunteering at the Urbanna 2nd Time Around Thrift Store, also presented with the MCVRS Ladies Auxiliary. All proceeds made at the thrift store were donated to the girls project.
Their final fundraiser was presented on Aug. 7 at Saluda Baptist Church where they offered a free eye screening for anyone of any age, to help promote back-to-school eye health, a bake sale, and announced their 50/50 raffle winner. The only non-fundraising event Kendall and Caroline did was an interview with Caroline’s mother Ashley Enstminger.
Along with all these fundraisers the girls sold stickers with the mascot Wishey the Wishbone guy, and conducted a 50/50 raffle through the entirety of their project. They also set up three donation cups at J&W Seafood, Karen’s Wild Hair, and River Birch. They raised a total of $4,175.64.
Kendall has been a Middlesex High School cross country runner since her freshman year, has played on the Lady Chargers Basketball Team, and runs as a Lady Charger for the track and field team. Kendall is currently the president of Student Government Association and vice president of her class. She has been a member of the Student Government Association since freshman year. Kendall was inducted into the National Honor Society her junior year. She enjoys spending her time with her teammates, and further educating herself in interests not explored in school.
After graduation, Kendall intends on going to a four year college to pursue a degree in either Physical Therapy, or Biochemistry. She is the daughter of Mark Lucas and Lydia Gilbert, grandchild of Jennifer and Larry Lucas, Harry Lee and Linda Gilbert. She has one brother Austin.
Caroline will be beginning her first year at Middlesex Elementary School, and will be going into first grade. She enjoys swimming and playing outside. Caroline is the daughter of Scott and Ashley Entsminger, grandchild of Michael and Heather Lucas, Les and Sue Enstminger, great-granddaughter of Darlene and the late Walter Revere and Jennifer and Larry Lucas.
