Santa Maria Elks announce candidates for 2026 Rodeo Queen Contest

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - The countdown to the 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade is now officially underway with the recent announcement of this year's Queen Contest candidates.

During the annual Queen Kickoff and Auction Dinner held at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, the candidates and their sponsoring non-profit organizations that were revealed included, Reiyna Sarin (Allan Hancock College Athletic Boosters) Savannah Salcido (Kiwanis Club of Guadalupe), Annabella Williams (Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club), and Morgan Fasse (St. Joseph High School).

"The Queen Kickoff is when they start raising funds for their organizations," said Elks Recreation President Peter Sterling. "Each one of them has the opportunity to raise as much money as they can and the one that raises the most money is the one that wins the Queen crown." 

Over the next seven weeks, the candidates and sponsoring organizations will raise money through a variety of different fundraisers and events.

"Typically, there's a couple of auctions going on," said Sterling. "That's a lot of the main fundraisers. I have one organization that is raffling off a brand new Corvette. You can buy some tickets for that and at the end of the campaign, they have a drawing and you can be the winner. There's a lot of fun events that you can go to and a lot of creative ways that they raise money. Check out their Facebook websites and I'll bet you'll find something that'll really interests you."

The contest will culminate with the announcement of the winner and the coronation of the new Queen on Friday, May 29.

Since it was created more than 80 years ago, the Queen Contest has raised more than $18 million with all the money directly supporting local youth recreation and activities.

"Nothing goes outside of this community," said Sterling. "The City of Santa Maria and its outlying areas have all benefited from that obviously and we really appreciate it. We're one of the unique programs that I've heard of like this. I haven't heard of any other organizations in the rodeo, world, that have really tried this kind of a contest."

The 83rd Annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo and Parade will be held May 27 through May 31.

Opening night for the second straight year will be the performance of Xtreme Bulls, followed by four consecutive days of the traditional schedule of Elk Rodeo events.

For more information, click here to visit the official Elk Rodeo website at elksrec.com.