Miss Wagga Wagga leaves the levee bank to head to the medieval walls of Nördlingen

After finishing work on Friday, Miss Wagga Wagga Jessikah McCarthy packed her crown and jumped into a car for Sydney to join the delegation headed for Germany.

“Yes, the crown is in the carry-on. I’ve checked the box about 10 times this morning to make sure it’s still there!” she says, on the phone from the airport moments before her first trip overseas.

Along with Community Princess Rachael Bowering and Mayor Dallas Tout, the delegates have been invited by Wagga’s sister city, Nördlingen, to participate in an extraordinary celebration.

“The festival that we’re going to will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so that’s very exciting,” says Jess.

The Bavarian town is one of the last remaining fully-walled medieval cities in Europe and will stage the Historisches Stadtmauerfest, (Historic Wall Festival) next weekend.

Miss Wagga Wagga Quest Committee Chair Ali Tanner says it’s a unique opportunity to stay within the city walls and journey back through time.

“It’s really quite an honour because the festival only happens every three years and they didn’t have the last one because of COVID,” she says.

During Historisches Stadtmauerfest, the former Free Imperial City of Nördlingen goes back to its roots with historically garbed parades, craftsmen, musicians, jugglers and artists, flag twirlers, and drummers cavorting through the medieval city.

“To take the city back to the medieval times, they cover all the street signs with hessian and there are no traffic lights and no vehicles in the city,” explains Ali.

“Everybody in the city dresses up in the traditional costume and they have shows and demonstrations of how they lived back in those days.

“They even have blunderbuss shooting!” she adds with a laugh.

Miss Wagga Wagga and our Community Princess will have some official duties as honoured guests at the event.

“There’ll be some formal things and we’re going in the parade on the Sunday but I think just the whole experience will be something incredible,” says Jess.

“I don’t have the traditional German costume but I think I’ll purchase one over there.”

The council delegation of the Mayor and General Manager Peter Thompson will also attend the festival and engage in a series of meetings aimed at promoting the Wagga region for investment and employment.

The sister city relationship dates back more than 50 years and in 1967, the reigning Miss Wagga Wagga was also given a reception in the ancient-walled city.

“It’s lovely for our current Miss Wagga Wagga and Community Princess to be able to go and represent the young women of Wagga,” says Ali.

“It’s the 75th year of the quest and it’s all going along quite well – and of course, we’re always looking for new entrants for next year!”

The reigning Mis Wagga Wagga agrees that it’s been a worthwhile experience for herself and Community Princess Rachael Bowering.

“We’ve done over 50 community engagements so far since being crowned titleholders in November and everything we do is just a little bit different to the next event,” she says.

“The citizenship ceremony is always very heartwarming, we helped unveil the Wagga Monopoly board, we’ve been part of Remembrance and Anzac days and we’ve helped out with the Salvation Army’s Christmas appeal.

“There’s just so much going on in the community that it’s just great being involved and serving the community in different ways.”

She also has a message for the next generation of Miss Wagga Wagga contenders.

“Just give it a go! Even if you aren’t a titleholder, those skills that you learn as an entrant are invaluable,” she says.

“We’ve learned everything from event management to communicating and public speaking, and even just the organizational skills that transfer into life beyond the quest.

“But becoming a titleholder is certainly cherry on top.”