Monticello's Lydia Patch Named Winter Carnival Queen

HOUGHTON, MI (02/08/2011)(readMedia)-- Lydia Patch was named Michigan Tech's 2011 Winter Carnival Queen. She is reigning over the week-long festivities in the annual celebration of snow and ice in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Patch's spirited and humorous vocal performance of "Not Getting Married Today," from the musical "Company," helped earn her the crown. In addition to Carnival Queen honors, she received a $1,000 scholarship from the Michigan Tech Student Foundation.

This year's theme is "Thousands of Pages Unfold in the Bitter Cold" and temperatures have made the title accurate. Patch, a third year biology major and Spanish minor, will oversee the many events, including skits, human dogsled races, snow volleyball, and the famous snow statue building.

Classes are cancelled Thursday and Friday, so the student engineers can create their statue masterpieces all Wednesday night and then recuperate. The weekend culiminates in hockey and a fireworks display Saturday night.

Patch is a graduate of Monticello Senior High School and is the daughter of Fredrick and Mary Patch of Monticello.