92nd Queen of the Texas Rose Festival Miss Avery Craft Armstrong, right, visits with guests during the Texas Rose Festival Winter Gala Friday, at Willow Brook Country Club. (Les Hassell/Tyler Morning Telegraph Photo)

With a down-to-earth charm that captivated the Willow Brook Country Club, Avery Craft Armstrong stepped onto the ballroom floor Friday night as she was announced as the 92nd Texas Rose Festival Queen. In a dazzling red dress, she embraced the moment with a beaming smile and a quiet confidence.

“I am truly honored to serve as the 92nd Queen of the Texas Rose Festival alongside Princess Mary-Michael Dial and the rest of our amazing court,” she told the eager and beaming audience. “However, this position is not about me. As Queen, I am simply a representative of our great city and the rich tradition of the Rose industry and what it has meant to Tyler.”

Avery is the daughter of Blake and Kelli Armstrong and has deep roots in the East Texas community.

“The community of Tyler has always been a big part of my life,” she said. With her entire family living in the area, including her grandparents just 45 minutes away in Athens, she has always felt connected to the city, including the Rose Festival.

“I was an attendant in 2012 with Queen Haley Anderson, and I fell in love with it,” Avery recalled. “My mom and aunts have also been very involved in the Rose Festival my whole life, so I grew up going backstage with them, helping get the girls on stage and helping get everything set up. I’ve been around it forever.”

Growing up, Avery’s favorite part of the Rose Festival was being backstage during the coronation.

“I think there’s a certain type of magic with it. Being little and being with the older girls was always really fun,” she said. “It’s hectic, but it all comes together, so it’s always really cool to see.”

At 19 years old, Avery is studying molecular and cellular biology on a pre-dental track at the University of Kansas, hoping to pursue a career in orthodontics. In addition to her academics, she is also a member of the track team.

She graduated from Tyler Legacy, where she participated in track, volleyball, and briefly soccer. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and student council, and was named Miss Tyler Legacy.

“I loved my time there, and some of my best friends are from Legacy, so it was a great experience,” she said.

Avery’s journey to becoming the 2025 Rose Queen came as a surprise while she was in town for her grandfather’s architecture award ceremony at Texas A&M. That’s when 2025 Texas Rose Festival President Michael Young and his wife, Laura, showed up at her home to deliver the news.

“I did not know they were coming, and it was really sweet,” Avery said. “He actually got choked up when he was asking me and he just said, ‘I would be very honored if you would be the 92nd Rose Queen.’ It was a very easy yes.”

As the 2025 Rose Queen, Avery hopes to inspire a sense of community and togetherness, celebrating the bonds that unite Tyler and continuing the cherished traditions of the Texas Rose Festival.

“I just really want it to be a community thing and that everybody can come and see it, and that it just gives back to the community,” she said. “We were fortunate enough to raise enough money to give back to the two nonprofits tonight, which was amazing. So that would be something really cool to give back to the community in some way like that again.”

At the gala, East Texas Crisis Center and PATH each received $10,000 to further their missions in Tyler and Smith County.

Avery is eager to represent her community and spread awareness about the Rose Festival.

“Being up at the University of Kansas, I’ve already told so many people about it, and they had never heard of it,” she said. “I showed them the (Tyler Rose) Museum this summer, and I think it would just be fun to get other people to know about the Rose Festival.”

With a strong group and such enthusiasm surrounding this year’s Rose Festival, Avery is certain this will be a year to remember.

“It’s going to be a really good year,” Avery said. “We have a great group of girls and the attendance is amazing. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Princess Mary-Michael Dial

Following the role of the Princess came with big, high-heeled shoes to fill, but Mary-Michael Dial is ready to carry on the tradition with the same style, grace, and pose as big sister Merritt, who was the 2024 Princess.

“She’s an awesome role model and she is my best friend. I look up to her in every way possible, so that definitely makes me nervous,” Mary-Michael said. “But she did a great job of giving me a pep talk before (the speech at Friday night’s gala) and kind of calming some of those nerves.”

Mary-Michael comes from a family deeply rooted in the history of the Texas Rose Festival. The daughter of David and Michelle Dial, she is also a proud seventh-generation Tylerite.

“My mom’s side of the family moved here in 1854,” she said. “I think that with the deep-rooted culture and history that this city provides, I just want to let the people know that I absolutely adore my city and I can’t wait to represent it as best as I can.”

The day Mary-Michael was asked by President Young to be the 2025 Princess, she was babysitting and kept getting FaceTime calls from her parents. Not wanting to neglect her babysitting duties, she kept postponing the calls.

“When I finally picked up, it was this year’s president, Michael Young,” she said. “And he popped the question to me and it was just extreme surprise and excitement and definitely feelings of overwhelmingness. It’s a huge opportunity and… such a fun and exciting thing to be able to.”

At 19 years old, she’s a sophomore at Texas Christian University, where she recently decided to pursue a major in communications. Alongside her studies, she’s double minoring in digital culture and data analytics, as well as general business. Passionate about the outdoors, she finds joy in music, painting, and spending time with friends.

“I’m so excited to be able to volunteer and participate more in my community and have a position as a role model for younger children and maybe even people my age or older people as well,” Mary-Michael said. “So I can’t wait to become a symbol of my beautiful city.”

The Texas Rose Festival will be held Oct. 16-19 in Tyler.