07/30/2026
For generations, the Miss New Buffalo Scholarship Program has been a source of pride in our community, celebrating the accomplishments, leadership, and potential of our young people through its partnership with the Blossomtime Festival. After many thoughtful conversations with past royalty, current students, parents, and community members, we have made the difficult decision to continue the Miss & Mr. New Buffalo Scholarship Program independently.
This decision was not made lightly. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunities Blossomtime has provided our royalty over the years, as well as the friendships, partnerships, and memories that have been created. Those experiences have helped shape our program, and we will always appreciate the role Blossomtime has played in our history.
As our community and the needs of our students have evolved, we realized it was time for our program to evolve as well. With graduating classes as small as 35 students, our contestants are often deeply involved in athletics, performing arts, leadership organizations, academics, employment, and many other commitments. We want to encourage well-rounded young people to pursue every opportunity available to them, not feel they have to choose one passion over another, especially when those opportunities could lead to substantial scholarships, college admission, or lifelong career opportunities.
Becoming an independent scholarship program also allows us to invest even more directly in our contestants and our community. With greater flexibility in how we allocate our resources, we will be able to grow our scholarship fund and increase the amount of scholarship money awarded each year. Our goal has always been to create opportunities that have a lasting impact, and we are excited to direct even more of our resources toward helping our young people pursue their educational and career dreams.
Just as importantly, we believe our responsibility as leaders extends far beyond producing a pageant. Today’s teenagers are facing challenges unlike any generation before them. According to the latest national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 57% of high school girls reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and approximately 27% reported experiencing poor mental health most of the time. Those statistics are impossible to ignore.
While a scholarship program alone cannot solve these challenges, we believe it can provide something incredibly meaningful: a positive, encouraging environment where young people feel valued, supported, heard, and empowered to grow into confident leaders. Every young person deserves adults who believe in them, encourage them, and remind them of the difference they can make.
As we begin this exciting new chapter, we are also placing an even greater emphasis on leadership through service. Every contestant will develop a personal community service initiative centered on a cause they are passionate about, whether that’s supporting mental health, promoting literacy, improving our environment, assisting local nonprofits, encouraging youth involvement, or addressing another need within New Buffalo. Throughout their year of service, our titleholders will partner with local organizations, volunteer their time, and turn their vision into meaningful action.
We believe a crown is more than a title. It is a platform to inspire others, create meaningful change, and leave our community better than they found it.
Our commitment has always been, and will continue to be, the young people of New Buffalo. We are excited to continue building a program that celebrates leadership, scholarship, service, kindness, and community while creating an experience every contestant can look back on with pride.
This decision is not about closing a door. It is about choosing the path that best fits the needs of our community and our students today. We are incredibly grateful for our years with the Blossomtime Festival and everything those experiences have brought to our program. While we are excited to begin this new chapter as an independent scholarship program, we also recognize that communities and organizations continue to evolve. Should the needs of our community change in the future, we would welcome the opportunity to thoughtfully explore what that future might look like.
For now and always, we are excited to focus on serving the young people of New Buffalo in the best way we know how by listening to their voices, valuing their perspectives, and continuing to evolve alongside them. Our students are, and always will be, the heart of this program. Their involvement, passion, and leadership will continue to shape its future, and we are committed to building a program they are proud to be part of.
We hope you’ll join us as we begin this exciting new chapter for the Miss & Mr. New Buffalo Scholarship Program. ❤️
Sincerely,
Danielle Rose & Katie Garrison
Co-Chairmen of the Miss/Mr. New Buffalo Scholarship Program
