Queen Layla Rothman and her court celebrate the unveiling of the new Queen’s exhibit, honoring tradition, family, and festival history.
The 2026 Florida Strawberry Festival Queen and her court were all smiles as they gathered with family and festival leaders for the unveiling of the updated queen’s exhibit, an annual tradition that preserves the pageant’s history while celebrating its former and current royalty.
The exhibit, located inside the Milton E. Hull Building (also known as the rock building), is refreshed each year to highlight the reigning queen and her court. Sisters Marsha Passmore and Dodie White have organized and updated the display since 2015, when they were asked to take over the project and build it from scratch.
This year’s exhibit features 2026 Queen Layla Rothman, First Maid Marley Mueller, and court members Cadence Cape, Addison Griffin, and Addison Pope. The display includes Rothman’s pageant gown — as is tradition each year — along with smaller framed photos of each member of the court showcased alongside the queen’s dress.
New to the exhibit this year are photos of the 2026 Junior Royalty Queen and court and 2025 Baby Parade winners, allowing families to see their daughters and granddaughters represented in festival history.
A photo honoring longtime volunteers was also added this year. White and Passmore were surprised to discover themselves in the lower corner of an older photograph taken at a volunteer dinner years ago. “We were so tickled when we saw it was us in the picture,” said White.
The wall of former queens remains a focal point of the exhibit. The first queen featured is Charlotte Rosenberg, crowned in 1930. Her black-and-white portrait — complete with perfectly coiffed hair and striking lipstick -—marks the beginning of a decades-long tradition.
Within twenty feet of Rothman’s photo, on a wall recognizing past festival presidents, hangs her grandfather Robert Trinkle’s photo. He passed away almost a year ago.
For Rothman, the moment of recognition was both sentimental and bittersweet. “I know he’d be so proud of me,” she said.
For Rothman’s mother, Rebecca Rothman, seeing her daughter’s gown and photo displayed alongside her father’s image was emotional.
“There’s such history with my family here,” she said. “Seeing my dad’s picture on the wall and now my daughter’s as well — it brings joy to my heart to know that she is going to be in the history books as well.”
Festival President Kyle Robinson said the history center was built to honor queens and courts, drawing visitors back each year. He also presented the fathers of the queen and court members with VIP board of directors hats, a token he joked is “very sought after” and often worn with pride.
Passmore said the exhibit remains a “labor of love” and a reminder of the lifelong bonds formed through the pageant.
“You don’t have to be blood kin to be family, and when your year is finished, the friendships made will last a lifetime,” she commented to the queen and court.
As the girls toured the display, audibly “oohing” and “aahing” at the finished product — it became a tangible reminder that, for the next year and beyond, they are part of festival history.
The exhibit will be open daily throughout the 11-day festival.
