Santa Lucia: A Stanton Tradition

Waverley Brown was named 2017 Santa Lucia queen. She was crowned by Mary Palmquist Haubold, the first Santa Lucia queen crowned in Stanton in 1952. Haubold was one of two dozen former queens in attendance at the 66th annual Santa Lucia Festival of Lights Saturday. Fifth-grader Kyla Hart dances in the scarf dance, a traditional Swedish dance for girls only. Stanton fifth and sixth graders performed Swedish dances directed by Kelsi Schmidt. “The Swedish Christmas Holiday Helpline Hotline,” written by Matt King, was performed before the crowning of the queen. Watch for more photos in next week’s edition of The Red Oak Express.