About the Contest — Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade

About the Colleen Contest

The first Colleen was chosen in 1955 by a ballot that was published in the Holyoke Transcript Telegram for a period of about 2 weeks. Families and friends of Colleen hopefuls would submit their names by ballot to the Committee. The five young ladies with the most votes would be the finalists and the lady with the most ballots would be the Grand Colleen. Some years over 30,000 ballots were counted. The system was changed in 1963 after years of complaints to the newspaper that ballots were stolen from newspapers.
First Colleen Contest was in 1963 at the War Memorial
For many years, the Grand Colleen participated in a Pageant in Kerry, Ireland that included Colleens from all over the world. They all competed for the “Rose of Tralee” title, In 1970, Holyoke was honored to have its first and only “Rose of Tralee” – Colleen, Kathleen Welch.
The “Bonnie Baker Miss Congeniality Award” is named after Bonnie Baker who was a Colleen Organizer and former Director of the Contest. She was integral to the Colleen Contest for 25 years. This award is special because the contestants select the young lady who has made their Colleen Contest experience special.

Participation in the Colleen Pageant allows each contestant to not only represent her family and heritage but her community.

Each contestant will learn more about their Irish heritage and experience the longtime traditions of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Committee.
Participating in the Colleen Pageant provides contestants the opportunity to meet new people - either from the Pageant, the Parade Committee and the Community.
Grand Colleen Pageant contestants will learn life-long lessons, such as public speaking, interview skills and networking. It is also a great addition for their resume.
Being named a Colleen is an honor - it means becoming a role model, representing your city in local events and serving as a symbol of tradition, pride and cultural connection in one of the most celebrated St Patrick’s Day communities.

Between the ages of 17-22 (as of March 17, 2026)
Single (i.e. never married, and not a mother)
Claim Irish Ancestry
Resident of Holyoke, South Hadley, Easthampton or Southampton
Submit a resume detailing education, community service, achievements, and future goals

Colleen Orientation is held the week before the Pageant where Contestants learn about the Committee’s expectations and what to look forward to if selected as a finalist.
At the Orientation Contestants will draw a number to determine order of appearance at the Pageant.
The morning of the contest each contestant will engage in a 10 minute interview conducted by our three distinguished judges. They will be asked a series of questions, with the majority of the questions coming from the contest's resume.
In the evening, contestants will walk across the stage while their resumes are read in front of family and friends.
Contestants are scored numerically based on intelligence, personality, poise and appearance.
Contestants with the five highest scores become the finalists.

While the tabulating is taking place, Contestants vote for the Contestant who has been the most supportive, fun and responsible for making the experience enjoyable.

The contestant with the most votes wins the “Bonnie Baker Miss Congeniality Award” and is invited to attend the public appearances with the five finalists, even if she is not one of the finalists.

Prior scoring from the Colleen Pageant is not included in this event.
New judges are selected and finalists are scored on their answer to the same question.
The Grand Colleen is crowned with a Tiara by the Grand Marshal.

The Parade Committee gifts the Grand Colleen with a tiara and $3,000 to be used as a scholarship or trip to Ireland.
The Grand Colleen and her Court are also gifted with their gowns and other gifts donated by the Committee and area businesses.