Anika Rigby was selected today from the 2026 Rose Festival Court during the Queen’s Coronation, a time-honored Rose Festival tradition celebrating outstanding young leaders from high schools across the Portland metro area. As Queen, Rigby will represent Portland and the Rose Festival for the next year at appearances throughout the region, across the country and abroad.
Rigby is a junior at Lincoln High School and an accomplished student leader with a passion for civic engagement, global affairs and community service. She plans to attend a four-year university to study government and journalism, pursue a master’s degree in foreign relations at Tsinghua University in China and then attend law school. Her career goal is diplomacy.
“Anika represents curiosity, leadership, service and a deep love for Portland,” said Dayna Kirk, Rose Festival Court Chair. “Her commitment to civic learning, her global perspective and her genuine connection to the community will make her an outstanding ambassador for the Rose Festival and for our city.”
Rigby’s achievements include earning first place in Oregon and first place nationally in the 2025 We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Competition, first place in the District of Oregon in the 2025 Ninth Circuit Court Civics Video Contest and serving as co-president of the Asian Student Union. She is also secretary of the National Chinese Honor Society, a Chinese Language Class teacher aide, president of the Pink Valley Dance Team, a Girls Varsity Golf player, Red Cross Advocate and National Honor Society member.