IU alumna named 500 Festival Queen

IU can now claim a queen.

Annie Berning, who graduated from IU in May, was named the 2009 500 Festival Queen on May 16. The Festival announced Berning’s selection for the queen at the annual Breakfast at the Brickyard, which all Indiana mayors attended at the Plaza Pavilion in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As a Hutton Honors College student, Berning triple-majored in Spanish, political science, and management through the Liberal Arts and Management Program. Outside of the classroom, she was a member of Chi Omega sorority and was the president of the Council for Advancing Student Leadership.

Berning, 21, said she was completely shocked but honored and excited when she was crowned queen. From there, Berning said the week and a half leading up to the Indianapolis 500 was full of nonstop activities and a complete whirlwind.

Berning, along with the other 32 ambassadors called festival princesses, participated in outreach programs in their respective college towns across Indiana and volunteer opportunities in their hometowns during the month of May.

The month kicked off with a mini marathon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the ambassadors ran a Gatorade stand at the 12-mile marker. Different events including Month of May Kick Off, Pole Day and Methodist Race Day Party also took place during the month leading up the race during Memorial Day weekend.

The 500 Festival was created to not only celebrate the Indianapolis 500, but also to honor the residents of Indiana. The events that go on during the festival are mainly put on by volunteer efforts and are geared to create a positive national image of the state capital. The festival has become a highlight of the Indianapolis 500 celebration.

For being named queen, Berning received a $2,500 scholarship from the 500 Festival and WTHR Indianapolis Channel 13. Throughout the past week, Berning participated in multiple events leading up to the race.

However, now that the race is over, Berning said she does not have as many responsibilities as the festival queen.

“The duties and responsibilities just depend on the requests that the 500 Festival and Indianapolis 500 get from Indiana communities, which is pretty seldom,” Berning said.
Throughout the rest of the year, she will continue to represent the 500 Festival at different volunteer opportunities and other events.

“The queen is chosen based off of a public speech given back in April at the Annual Princess Reception,” Berning said. “There was a queen interview that happened even earlier, with seven or eight judges about their involvement in the Festival 500 events, including how many community outreaches they did. The queen is chosen as the representative of all 33 women who are able to be a liaison to the speedway.”

Berning said her favorite parts of the race weekend were the 500 Festival Parade and when she continued the tradition of giving the winner of the Indianapolis 500 a kiss, this year’s winner being three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves.

“The parade was the most exhilarating,” she said. “It made us all absolutely ecstatic and got us ready for the weekend. I had no idea how packed the streets would be downtown. We wish it had lasted it longer.”