Three Grapeland Seniors Step Into Peanut Queen Tradition

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND — Three Grapeland High School seniors are preparing for one of the community’s best-known traditions, each hoping to hear her name called when the 2026 Peanut Queen is crowned later this month.

Hazel Martinez, Shaylie Rice and Aaliyah Tryon will compete in the Peanut Queen Pageant at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Lorena Shoultz Auditorium as part of the 81st annual Grapeland Peanut Festival.

The festival traces its history to 1945, when the celebration began as the Goober Carnival. Generations of young women have since taken part in the pageant tradition, but this year’s three candidates bring very different personalities, talents and plans for the future to the stage.

All three recently sat down with The Messenger for interviews about the pageant, their senior year and what comes next. The complete video interviews with the candidates, along with 2022 Peanut Queen and current pageant director Emily Hanna, will be featured on Sunday, Oct. 11, on Houston County News.

Hazel Martinez

Martinez, a senior sponsored by Tamaleria Los Martinez, said competing for Peanut Queen was never something she had expected herself to do.

“I never would have thought that I would have been a Peanut Queen contestant,” Martinez said. “It was just last minute.”

She had, however, watched other young women participate in pageants and said she had always wanted the opportunity to experience one herself.

For the talent portion of the competition, Martinez will perform a traditional Mexican dance.

As rehearsals have continued, Martinez said one of the parts she has enjoyed most has been working alongside the other two candidates. The girls also participate together in a group fitness dance as part of the program.

When asked what had proved most difficult, Martinez laughed and admitted that sitting down for the interview with The Messenger might have been somewhere near the top of the list.

The experience has apparently been worth the nerves.

“It’s definitely an experience I would recommend to anyone,” Martinez said. “It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

After graduating from Grapeland, Martinez hopes to attend college in the Rio Grande Valley. She is considering studying forensics, while immigration law is another career she has thought about pursuing.

A phlebotomy class during her senior year has also increased her interest in the medical field.

For now, though, there is still a pageant to finish. Asked what she might do if her name is called at the end of the night, Martinez acknowledged even she might get a little emotional.

“I might tear up a little bit,” she said, “just because I never would have expected it to be me.”

Shaylie Rice

Rice, a senior sponsored by Crockett Eye Clinic, said both the history of the event and the opportunities that come with it helped convince her to become a candidate.

“I love the tradition of it,” Rice said.

She also pointed to the scholarship opportunities connected with the competition as another reason she decided to enter.

This year’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary will play a prominent role in Rice’s talent presentation. She plans to perform a Statue of Liberty scene, complete with costume and a speech she has been working to perfect.

Memorizing that presentation, she said, has probably been the most difficult part of her preparation.

The other pieces have been coming together, including work on her float. Rice said Crockett Eye Clinic has supported her throughout the process, particularly Lynette in the clinic’s front office, who has helped with preparations.

Rice said the months of competition have also brought the three candidates closer rather than pushing them apart.

“I feel like we have a great support system,” Rice said. “All of the girls are so amazing. I’m really close with them, and it’s just been a lot of fun.”

After high school, Rice hopes to attend Baylor University and pursue a career in anesthesiology, with the long-term goal of eventually opening her own practice.

Winning the crown, she admitted, might leave her momentarily stunned.

She said she would be “super thrilled and excited,” even if shock was the first reaction.

For younger Grapeland students wondering whether they should someday take on the dresses, rehearsals, sponsors, floats, interviews and everything else that comes with the pageant, Rice had a simple answer.

“I would tell them to do it,” Rice said. “I mean, you only have one chance. You only live once.”

Aaliyah Tryon

Tryon, a senior sponsored by George Bartee Construction, came to the Peanut Queen competition from a decidedly different direction.

Growing up in Grapeland, she said, pageants were not exactly part of the plan.

“Growing up, I was really a tomboy, so I was always hanging with the boys and playing football,” Tryon said.

She had seen Peanut Queen candidates riding through the annual parade and certainly knew about the pageant, but Tryon said she had never actually attended one before becoming a contestant herself.

That changed during her senior year after the pageant was promoted at school and Grapeland Mayor Velda Green encouraged her to give it a try during Meet the Teacher.

“It’s my senior year,” Tryon said. “I don’t have anything to lose.”

The decision has given her another way to spend time with two girls she has known for years.

“My favorite part is definitely just the whole experience with the rest of the girls because we’ve gone to school together pretty much all our lives,” Tryon said. “We’re friends outside of this, so it’s pretty fun just to work with them.”

Tryon will sing for the talent portion of the competition. After a recent rehearsal, she said she felt much more confident about performing in front of the audience and was no longer particularly worried about stage fright.

Following graduation, Tryon plans to attend college with the goal of becoming a forensic pathologist. She has applied to several schools, including LSU and OSU.

For a young woman who had never attended a Peanut Queen Pageant before entering one, Tryon has come away with a straightforward message for younger students who might be hesitant to try.

“Just do it,” Tryon said. “It’s going to be worth it in the end. Don’t be scared. Everyone has nerves. You’re going to be nervous, but once you go out and do it, it’s great.”

From Queen to Director

For Emily Hanna, watching this year’s candidates prepare brings back memories that are not very old.

Hanna was herself a Grapeland senior when she competed for Peanut Queen in 2022. She won the crown that year and, after spending about a year away from the program, eventually returned to help with the pageant from the other side of the stage.

She is now one of the directors responsible for getting the annual production from an idea early in the year to the stage in October.

That process begins long before pageant night.

Hanna said directors start early by finding potential contestants, collecting names and phone numbers and reaching out to young women who might consider entering. A brunch gives prospective candidates an opportunity to meet the directors and learn what will be expected.

Practices begin in August.

From there, Hanna said, organizers begin assembling the many pieces needed for the production, including rehearsals, choreography, lights and sound.

Finding contestants can be one of the challenges.

Hanna said standing onstage before hundreds of people can be intimidating, particularly for young people dealing with stage fright or anxiety. The pageant also requires contestants to do things outside the digital world, such as approaching sponsors and speaking with people face-to-face.

Hanna understands the hesitation.

“I wasn’t going to run either,” she said.

Her experience as a contestant is one reason she has continued helping the young women who follow her.

“I wanted someone like me to direct the pageant when I was running,” Hanna said. “And so I kind of want to give that back to the girls now.”

Her involvement has since expanded beyond the Peanut Queen competition. Hanna has also helped develop the Peanut Princess Pageant, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10.

Away from the pageant, Hanna is beginning a new chapter of her own. She has returned to school to study nursing after taking time to decide what direction she wanted her life to take.

Nursing was something she had considered after high school, but Hanna said she did not believe her 18-year-old self was ready for the commitment such a demanding degree would require.

Four years later, she feels differently.

And on Saturday, Oct. 17, Hanna will be backstage helping three more Grapeland seniors through the experience she once needed a little convincing to try herself.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]