Program History
1995-96 Northeast Minneapolis Royalty
The exact origin of the Northeast Royalty program is unknown, but it can be traced back to the 1940’s. In the earlier years the queen was known as "Miss EastSide Minneapolis" or "Miss East Minneapolis" and the competition to become queen included a bathing suit contest and more closely represented a traditional beauty pageant.
A candidate from the 70’s remembers riding on the Grain Belt Brewery Float in the EastSide Parade. The Queen and Princesses traveled to other communities to participate in their community parades and festival events, proudly adorned in their glistening crowns and banners representing EastSide Minneapolis. In 1985 the title "Miss EastSide" was changed to "Miss Northeast Minneapolis".
Tradition has always held that there be a Queen and several Princesses. The number of princesses has varied over the years but two to three were normally chosen. Sometimes they were also known as attendants. In 2006 the Queen and Princess titles were changed to "Miss Northeast Minneapolis Ambassador" and two to three have usually been selected each year. Junior Royalty can be traced back to the 1950’s when a Jr. Queen, Jr. Commodore, Jr. Princess and Jr. Vice-Commodore were fairly common, represented by two boys and two girls of approximately five years old. In 2011, the category of Junior Miss was added to include candidates ages 11-14.
Starting in the 1950’s the queen’s of various communities throughout Minnesota, including Miss East Side, came together during the third week in July to compete for the title of the Queen of the Lakes (part of the Minneapolis Aquatennial). Northeast Minneapolis has had numerous representatives go on to win the titles of Aquatennial Princess and Queen of the Lakes.
Community Royalty Programs were at their peak in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. Northeast Minneapolis was no exception; it was what you did after graduation, and it had become a strong tradition. As women had more opportunities to go to college, participation in royalty programs began to decline. Times had changed and college attendance became the norm for young women of Northeast Minneapolis. As an incentive to both participate in the program and to further one's education, small scholarships were added to the program. In 1998 the college scholarships became more substantial and in 2002 the Program became an official 501c3 Scholarship Program, now known as The Northeast Minneapolis Royalty Ambassador Scholarship Program, Inc. Federal ID #41-2023563
The Northeast Royalty Board of Directors also updated the program in 1998 by making the focus on ambassadors much more prominent than that of the old-fashioned beauty queens. The board felt it was important that all ambassadors representing Northeast Minneapolis had a thorough knowledge of our Northeast community's heritage and traditions. To accomplish this goal, the community service requirement was added for all ambassadors in exchange for a significant scholarship to further their education.