133rd MAIFEST ROYALTY ANNOUNCED AT SERENADE
A warm and windy afternoon greeted the Royalty for the 133rd Brenham Maifest Sunday. The Royalty was announced at the Maifest Serenade Sunday afternoon at the Dr. Bobbie Dietrich Memorial Amphitheater at Hohlt Park.
Serving as this year’s Junior Royalty are Virginia Kate Priesmeyer and Luke Robert Hyatt. They will be reigning over the court of “The Enchanted Tree House”. Virginia is the daughter of Jamie and Kyle Priesmeyer and Luke is the son of Jill and Josh Hyatt.
Serving as this year’s Senior Royalty are Lauren Ruth Hook and Ashton Kiel Behrens. They will be reigning over the court of “Musical Memories”. Lauren is the daughter of Tom and Lisa Hook. Ashton is the son of Kimberley and Keith Behrens.
Full Miafest Press Release:
Junior King - Luke Robert Hyatt
Luke Robert Hyatt will adventure through time in “The Enchanted Tree House” of the 133rd Junior Maifest. This year’s Junior Maifest King has grown to love the Maifest tradition, and each spring, he looks forward to making special Maifest memories with family, friends, and the community. He has participated in Maifest since the age of 3 and has enjoyed being a cowboy, a race car driver, a cave explorer, Peter Pan, an ice fisherman, and a Viking!
He is a member of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and is a 4th grader at St. Paul’s Christian Day School. He is a member of Cub Scout Pack 742. Born on the 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year, he was destined to be a 12th man, so you can find him wearing maroon and cheering on the Aggies! With admiration and respect for our American military, he enjoys learning, reenacting, and retelling historical military events, especially World War II naval battles. He enjoys using his imagination to build with Legos and create new worlds in Minecraft. Weekend fun includes working cows, hunting, fishing, and going on adventures at the Winkelmann family farm. His easy going, care-free nature and comical personality bring great joy to family and friends.
Luke is the son of Jill and Josh Hyatt. He is the grandson of Sherrie and Rob Winkelmann and Nita and Mark Hyatt. Luke and his family love Maifest and look forward to the springtime celebration each year. He is the 11th person in his family to receive this community honor. He joins his father, Josh Hyatt (1999); sister, Isabelle Hyatt (2019); aunt, Jodi Winkelmann Lyons (2004); great-aunt, Lois Winkelmann Kolkhorst (1983); great-uncle, John Hasskarl (1966); and cousins Courtney Cook Holm (1997); Caroline Cook Maxwell (1999); Cathleen Cook Redus (1995); Lois Kate Kolkhorst (2008); Jake Kolkhorst (2012) as Maifest royalty. Luke would like to invite all children to join in this magical adventure through time in “The Enchanted Tree House” by participating in the 2023 Maifest parade and Junior coronation on Saturday, May 6!
Junior Queen - Virginia Kate Priesmeyer
Virginia Kate Priesmeyer is excited to join family, friends, and the community of Brenham for the 133rd Junior Maifest! She is looking forward to traveling through time with friends both old and new in “The Enchanted Tree House”. Kate is quite honored to be chosen as this year’s Junior Maifest Queen as she has many fond memories of her own! She has been a Maifest participant since the age of 3 as a Maiden of the Sunset, Elle Woods, a Sangeet Dancer, and a gingerbread girl!
Kate is a 4th grader at Krause Elementary School and a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She enjoys her fall and spring playing on the Challenge Soccer team. When Kate is not on the soccer field, you’ll find her in the pool swimming with the Brenham Dolphins Swim Team each summer and the Brenham Swim Club year round. Kate adores her family and enjoys spending time with her cousins splashing in the waves and building sand castles on the beach.
This year’s Junior Maifest queen is the daughter of Jamie and Kyle Priesmeyer and the spunky sister to Kennedy and Kullen Priesmeyer. She is the granddaughter of Jimmy and the late Linda Priesmeyer and Judy and Randall Stockton.
Virginia Kate is looking forward to the memories that await this spring! She and her family would like to invite all children to join the fun for the coronation and parade on Saturday, May 6th!
Senior King - Ashton Kiel Behrens
Ashton Kiel Behrens is the 2023 Senior Maifest King. He is the eighteen-year-old son of Kimberley and Keith Behrens and the older brother of Emmie. Ashton participated in his first Maifest while a Kindergartener at St. Paul's Christian Day School. He has fond memories participating in past Junior and Senior Maifests as a chimney sweep, Lego construction worker, one of Robin Hood’s merry men, a hunter, a golfer, a storm trooper and many other memorable characters. He is excited and honored to be selected as the Senior King this year.
Ashton is currently a Senior at Brenham High School where he has played on both Varsity Basketball and Golf teams. He is a member of Cub Pride, a delegate to Texas Boys State, a member of National Honor Society, and a National Merit Scholar Commended Student. Additionally, he is the recipient of a College Board National Recognition Award. He will be pursuing an Engineering degree at Texas A&M University this Fall, where he will be the first of a fifth generation of Aggies in his family.
Ashton enjoys attending Aggie football games, skiing with family and friends, golfing and hunting with his dad. He attends First United Methodist Church with his family and enjoys volunteering annually at Faith Mission’s Thanksgiving meal at The Cannery. This community event holds a special place in his heart and has become one of Ashton’s favorite holiday traditions.
Ashton is the grandson of Betsy Spiller and the late Guy Spiller of Brenham; and Karen and Mike Behrens of Yoakum. Ashton will reign over the 2023 Senior Maifest “Musical Memories” with Queen Lauren Ruth Hook.
Senior Queen - Lauren Ruth Hook
Lauren Ruth Hook is the Queen of the 2023 Senior Maifest. She is the eighteen year old daughter of Tom and Lisa Hook. She participated in her first Maifest at the age of 3 as Sparkling Glitter. This is when her love for Maifest sparked, and the abundance of memories she has created truly began. She has loved every costume and role from a tiny tooth fairy, to a pink dragon, to a sweet spoonful of sugar; although her friendships formed through Maifest are what she cherishes most of all.
Lauren is a member of First United Methodist Church of Brenham, Prairie-Hill 4-H club, and is now a Senior at Brenham High school. The sidelines at Cub Stadium are her favorite place to be. She is a Varsity cheerleader, as well as captain of her squad, a six time UCA All- American, and an Ed-Pothul Coach’s Award recipient. Outside of cheer she has participated in National Honor Society, Anchor Club, YoungLife, and has treasured her time spent volunteering for the William Syndrome Fall Festival and Spring walk for the past seven years. She was honored to be a part of the 2022 BHS homecoming court where she was named 2nd runner-up.
She is ecstatic to continue her education this fall as a “Fightin Texas Aggie” at Texas A&M University where she will pursue her dream of becoming a Child Psychologist. Lauren is the older sister of Lindsey Hook, granddaughter of Gary and Dede Eastveld of Brenham, and Bob and Sally Hook of The Woodlands. Lauren will reign over the 2023 Senior Maifest, “Musical Memories” with Ashton Behrens.