Ella Seese grew up as one of five princesses in her family. That is, she and her four sisters have served on the Preston County Buckwheat Festival’s children’s court, reigned as junior and senior princesses alike, and now, Seese will serve as the First Maid of Honor to Queen Ceres LXXXII.
As she spent time on the various courts of the festival’s pageant, Seese looked forward to one day competing for a spot on the Royalty Court. Now that the day has come, the experience has proven just as gratifying and eye-opening as she anticipated.
Traveling across north-central West Virginia and beyond to attend parades, fairs, charity events and more is all part of the Royalty Court’s responsibilities as representatives of the Buckwheat Festival and Preston County. In doing so, Seese has witnessed firsthand the sprawling impact of the festival.
Even as she’s broadened her horizons, though, Seese’s mind has drifted back home to the ever-clearer ways the Buckwheat Festival is built upon the passionate efforts of the community for the community.
“You get an insight into a lot of things that maybe you don’t realize before working in the festival,” said Seese. “Being able to go into other parts of north-central West Virginia, and into Maryland, and see how much reach the festival really has is just very exciting.”
Handling the responsibilities of her role has also shown Seese the value of being ready to meet new people, visit new places and understand the traditions of other communities.
In past years, Seese’s involvement in the festival has been through volunteering to assist with parade floats and playing a role on sports floats. For the 82nd Buckwheat Festival, Seese looks forward to new elements of the fair’s activities, including the recent addition of a music festival, and getting an all-inclusive experience of the fair’s many areas.
The first maid of honor also anticipates a full-circle moment connecting her upbringing to that of the festival’s youth attendees.
“The festival is a very exciting time because I’ve lived in Preston County my whole life,” said Seese. “I’ve worked in the festival with my family, so just growing up and looking up to people who are on the court and who work on [the festival], and now being old enough to be part of that and to be able to help put the festival together, it’s a very honorable and rewarding experience.”
As a senior at Preston High School, Seese is part of National Honor Society, plays on the school’s soccer team and is executive officer of student government with hopes to run for student body president this year.
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