Sarah Schweich is the new 2009 Queen of the Snows, but she’s also a true daughter of this Land of 10,000 Lakes.
“I grew up on the lake,” said Schweich, 27, whose family still lives on Prior Lake. “I was a good Minnesota baby, in diapers and a life jacket.”
Schweich, who now lives in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, was named the St. Paul Winter Carnival’s queen on Thursday. The sales and marketing professional with PricewaterhouseCoopers stood out early to the members of the selection committee.
“The very first time we met her on Dec. 6 at the public (Winter Carnival) button unveiling, she wanted to know what she could do to help,” said Kathy Bjerke, board chair of the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation. “That’s exactly the kind of person who belongs in the royal family. She’s also extremely poised and well-spoken, and she’ll be a wonderful ambassador for St. Paul.”
While it might surprise some that a resident of Minneapolis is serving as the queen of St. Paul, there is no St. Paul residency requirement (in fact, the outgoing queen is from Edina). And while Schweich said she has more to learn and experience about the capital city, she already feels a connection to those living on the east side of the Mississippi River.
“Having attended Visitation, I have spent a lot of time in St. Paul and have a lot of friends from the area,” said the 2000 graduate of Convent of the Visitation School, located in Mendota Heights. “Also, my dad attended what was then St. Thomas College, and my mom attended the College of St. Catherine.”
She is also trying to confirm a possible family connection with the carnival.
“I’ve been told that my grandfather’s sister ran for Queen of the Snows,” she said.
Schweich has an interesting Winter Carnival memory from childhood.
“I certainly remember the Vulcans as a kid,” she said. “I was at the parade with my cousins and remember the Vulcans coming up to us at a time when they could still kiss you on the cheek.”
Wait a minute here. Did the Queen of the Snows just reveal that she got kissed by a Vulcan?
“I think so,” she said, laughing.
Well, those Vulcans will have a more difficult time getting that close to Schweich during this year’s carnival. The festival’s legend, of course, pits the Queen of the Snows and King Boreas and the rest of the royal family against Vulcanus Rex, the Fire King, and his Vulcan Krewe, in a battle between winter and spring.
The carnival, which dates back to 1886, is called the nation’s oldest and largest winter festival, and Schweich said she’s excited she’ll be a goodwill ambassador for both the celebration and the city during the coming year.
“I remember, when I was the outgoing Miss Prior Lake Ambassador, the royal family came to Lakefront Days and when they walked in the room, all eyes were on them,” said Schweich, whose Prior Lake royal reign was 1999-2000. “The pageantry and the legend of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, it’s tremendous. It’s an honor and a thrill to be part of it.”
Almost immediately into her new royal reign, as Schweich and the princesses of her royal court were getting fitted for their wardrobe, the queen witnessed the dedication of some of the behind-the-scenes volunteers who are the heart of this festival.
“We were up with the seamstresses until 4 in the morning, and those ladies are still sewing now,” Schweich said later Friday morning. “They tirelessly work these long hours.”
That kind of spirit is what drew Schweich to the Winter Carnival.
“I was interested in the community involvement and the philanthropic aspects of the carnival and also the personal growth opportunities,” said Schweich, who has been a member of the young professionals board of the Jeremiah Program, which provides transitional housing and support services to single mothers and their children, as well as an ongoing volunteer for the program’s Childhood Development Center.
Schweich, who is sponsored by Dakota Premium Foods, is single but said she has a “wonderful boyfriend.” In her spare time, she likes running and practicing Bikram yoga. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Molly Millett can be reached at 651-228-5505.
Copyright 2009 Pioneer Press.
