East Texas Yamboree’s next queen looks forward to her role

Published 12:20 am Saturday, July 26, 2025

GILMER – She participated in her first beauty pageant when she was 4, and in October, 17-year-old Mia Gage will become the 88th queen of one of the area’s most legendary ceremonies: the East Texas Yamboree in Gilmer.

“It means a lot to me and my family,” Gage said.

Gage is an incoming senior at Gilmer High School and is a member of the power-lifting team. She has a cosmetology permit and plans to become an OB/GYN one day.

The annual festival will take place Oct. 15-18.

The Yamboree began in 1935. Yams were a popular cash crop in the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but an attack of weevils caused a seven-year quarantine to be imposed on yams. When it was lifted in 1935, the town got together to celebrate.

That tradition has continued ever since — almost. The festival didn’t take place for three years during World War II or during 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The four-day festival draws about 100,000 attendees to Gilmer, population roughly 5,000, each year. The event includes a parade, queen coronation ceremony, barn dance, various contests and a large downtown carnival.

Becoming the Yamboree queen is no easy feat. Each June, contestants spend two weeks raising funds for the Yamboree. Contestants bring their earnings to a local bank, where tellers tally their takings, and the gal who garners the most wins.

Yamboree officials don’t disclose how much money the candidates raise individually, but overall, this year’s candidates raised more than $441,000. The 2024 total was $535,000, the highest ever.

“You have to work really hard,” Gage said. “You’re talking to a whole lot of people.”

As queen, she will preside over several aspects of the annual affair. She’s the star of the show during the queen’s coronation event. The coronation is where the audience can gaze at the queen’s dress, one of the most celebrated aspects of the royal tradition.

The queen meets with local children, participates in a parade and attends other events.

Gage’s younger sister, 9-year-old Sophia, has been inspired by her bigger sister’s role. Her sister will get to be a part of the coronation ceremony, and she wants to be the queen one day, Gage said.

Margo Carter, Gage’s grandmother, said she’s proud of her granddaughter.

“She worked very hard in this race, and she’s going to be a beautiful queen,” Carter said.

Gage is a little different from many Yamboree queens: She’s the first woman in her family to become one. Yamboree queens commonly come from a long line of local women who’ve worn the crown. She is also one of the only Hispanic women to be the queen.

Gage didn’t think she would win the queen’s race, but she said she’s grateful she did. She likes that the Yamboree is something the community cherishes.

“It brings everyone together,” Gage said.

For more information about the event, visit yamboree.com/.