The selection of the Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen and Little Miss Spat competition is a long-standing tradition that dates back to 1960. What would become the Urbanna Oyster Festival was only four years old when the first Oyster Festival Queen and Little Miss Spat were crowned on a flatbed trailer on the day of the festival.
As the Oyster Festival has evolved over the years, so has the selection of the Queen and Little Miss Spat (a spat is a baby oyster). What was once a beauty pageant is now a scholarship-based competition for the Queens. The Queen contestants must be high school seniors and residents of Middlesex County. Each Queen contestant mentors a first-grade contestant as her Little Miss Spat.
The Queen and Little Miss Spat competition starts early in the spring and extends until the crowning takes place on Friday of the Oyster Festival. The Queens are judged in five areas: individual community service project, individual judges’ interview, academic achievement, a spontaneously written response to a random question, and overall participation in the competition.
The Little Miss Spat Contestants are judged separately from the Queens in the following areas: participation at an ice cream social and a tea party, individual judges’ interview, and overall participation.
The foundation of this competition is character building and community service. Each Queen contestant must volunteer a minimum of 25 hours benefiting Middlesex County. This year’s Queen and Spat contestants have volunteered well over the required time, completing over 725 hours and donating over $16,000 for the betterment of this community.
Scholarships for the Queen contestants have been made possible by the generosity of local businesses. Queen sponsors are Bethpage Camp-Resort, Bon Secours Health, C&F Bank, Dr. C. Ben Lennon, Faulkner Funeral Homes-Bristow-Faulkner Chapel-Saluda, Ferguson Oyster Co.-Retail Seafood Market, Grey’s Point Camp, Jason and Emilie Rowe, J&W Seafood, Riverside Walter Reed Hospital, Rosegill Development LLC, Sonabank, Thurston Properties, Thurston Spring Service, G&G Charters LLC, River Wood Works, Middlesex Farm Bureau, and Holtzman Propane.
Sponsors for the Little Miss Spat competition are River Birch Nursery, Ryman’s A/C & Heating, Unique Golf Carts, and Urbanna Builders’ Supply.
The Queen and Little Miss Spat contestants for 2019 include in alphabetical order: Katherine Campbell and Riley Prete, Amber Daughtry and Adalyn Parsley, Marissa Halbig and Skylar Beverley, Danielle Jones and Jillian Major, Caroline Painter and Sophia Watson, Abby Purcell and Ella Norris, Samantha Wright and Madisyn Wade.
Spat Evelyn Vergara is competing without a queen contestant who withdrew.
In coming weeks, each Queen and Little Miss Spat contestants will be profiled.
Amber Daughtry
Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen contestant Amber Daughtry and her Little Miss Spat contestant Adalyn Parsley teamed up this summer to give back to the fire departments in the community. Daughtry and Parsley organized a firefighter-themed pancake breakfast, silent auction, and touch-a-truck called “Flames Out.” Daughtry chose to support the fire departments because they have been there her whole life. While growing up, Daughtry’s life has been surrounded by fire departments. Her family is a part of Upper Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department and Hartfield Fire Department.
Being in a fire family, she has learned what it’s like being a firefighter. Ever since then, she wanted to give back to the firefighters for everything they have done. When she got the opportunity to be an Urbanna Oyster Festival Queen contestant, she knew she had an opportunity to make a difference.
Daughtry chose to hold a pancake breakfast, silent auction, and touch-a-truck because fire departments always have dinners or other ways to raise money, so she thought like them and came up with a breakfast. She has been involved in the fire department community her whole life, and when it was time, she joined the Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department herself.
Daughtry and Parsley did lots of advertising to spread the word about Flames Out and their event at the Urbanna Firehouse on July 27. Their advertisements included posters, a banner, a Facebook page, and in person.
On July 27, they held their Flames Out event, which included several community members with businesses that allowed them to use their equipment during touch-a-truck. These businesses included Dixie Tree Removal, Parsley Site Clearing Construction, VDOT, and a truck from all four of the county’s volunteer fire departments. At this event, they also asked the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office to come and do Child I.D.
At the breakfast, members of the county fire departments were allowed to eat for free. Daughtry and Parsley had Flames Out koozies for sale for $4 and Flames Out stickers for $2.
David Taylor from their community donated two pieces for the silent auction. Stephanie Ripchick, owner of Holly Folk Farms in Barhamsville, donated a goodie basket of items made from her garden, and Julie Lewis donated a wooded sign.
Daughtry and Parsley were able to present each fire department with a goodie basket with snacks, water, and hand cleaners and a check for $350.
Daughtry has been a Middlesex High School cheerleader since eighth grade, and joined the Lady Chargers soccer team her junior year.
Daughtry has been very involved in Middlesex High School since freshman year. She has been a part of DECA, which allowed her to compete with different schools and make new friends. Daughtry helps the guidance office, the main office, and teachers when needed. Daughtry maintains above a 3.0 grade point average and keeps a place on the honor roll.
Daughtry is a member of Hermitage Baptist Church in Church View. She plans to attend college and major in special education.
Daughtry is the daughter of Katie Daughtry of Saluda and Bryan Daughtry of Church View, and is the granddaughter of Mary Rector and the late James Rector of Topping, and Donald and Bonnie Daughtry of Gloucester.
Daughtry’s Little Miss Spat contestant, Adalyn Parsley, is a first-grader at Middlesex Elementary School. She is the daughter of Shawn and Sarah Parsley of Saluda, and the granddaughter of Susan Palmer of Topping, and Ruth Ellen Parsley of New Kent and the late Edward “Peanut” Parsley.
