Kristin Stack Is The 2016 NY Rose of Tralee

May 4, 2016 - PRLog -- This weekend the NY Rose of Tralee Festival was celebrated.  The weekend kicked off at Empire City with the Night at the Races where all the candidates arrived clad in garden dresses, lovely hats and fascinators.  The contestants had their interviews with the judges that evening and meet and greet with guests and media on hand.  On Saturday, the girls and their Rosebuds and Buddies (girls and boys ages 5-12) took a bus tour of New York City and participated in a photo shoot.  Sunday was the selection night at Empire City. Attendees were treated to a surprise performance by Broadway's Ciaran Sheehan, star of Phantom of the Opera.  The audience was filled with notable celebrities such as, Brenda Willis star of the TLC Network's, The Willis Family, Kevin Crawford  an exceptional Irish traditional music flute player of the dynamic Irish band Lúnasa and the classic instrumental group Moving Cloud. The contestants escorted in by Bagpiper Ambassador Justin Bourne who The contestants were interviewed on stage by Co-Hosts Sean Ruane and Seamus Keane of the music group, Narrowbacks.  They also showcased their talents.  The judge panel consisting of Steve Lenox, Kerry Whitaker and Ashling Colten had their work cut out for them as the 11 contestants were all talented socially conscious young ladies.

Steve Lenox, 2 time judge and President of Irish Network USA stated "The 11 candidates who put themselves forward to represent the NY/NJ/CT Rose Center are the absolute embodiment of what the Rose of Tralee is all about."  These 11 young, accomplished women are all important parts of the Global Irish family, and give the strongest evidence that the ties that bind the US and Ireland together are only getting stronger."

The Rose of Tralee Festival is an international competition which is celebrated among Irish Communities all over the world. The festival, held annually in the town of Tralee, in County Kerry, takes its inspiration from a nineteenth-century ballad of the same name about a woman called Mary, who because of her beauty was called The Rose of Tralee.

NY, NJ, CT has a long history of participation in the festival due to the large number of Irish Immigrants who came to the Tri-state area. Kristin Stack will travel to Tralee August 17-23 for the International Festival to compete for the title of Rose of Tralee.