PHOTO: Amy Emerson, the 52nd St. John Sugar Queen, is the daughter of Stephanie and Bobby Emerson of Reserve. She is currently a sophomore at LSU, majoring in nursing. RESERVE – The 53rd annual St. John Parish Sugar Queen pageant will be Aug. 11 at the St. John Theatre in Reserve. This year’s pageant will celebrate the history of television. Ladies between the ages of 17 and 23, who are residents of St. John the Baptist Parish, may participate in this year’s pageant. A contestant cannot be married at the time of the contest and must never have been married or have had a child. Contestants will be judged in a personal interview and evening gown competition. The new queen will represent St. John Parish at various festivals throughout the state. She will enjoy meeting the different people of Louisiana and experiencing traditions like milking cows at the Cattle festival, thrashing rice at the International Rice festival, chasing greasy pigs at the Swine festival, indulging in tons of chocolate-covered strawberries at the Ponchatoula Strawberry festival and participating in countless other events that Louisiana has to offer. A $300 scholarship will also be awarded to the queen. Anyone interested in participating in the pageant should call Suzanne Cancienne at 652-2257 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., 536-3967 between 6-9 p.m., Maria Hotard-Stelly at 536-7441 or Barbara “BaBa” Oncale at 652-1195 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The deadline for participation is Friday. Tickets sales for the pageant will take place at the theatre Aug. 6-9 from 6:30-8 p.m.