Royal protectors

They are the fairy godmothers of the royal court.

They have everything a queen or princess could need – bobby pins, extra pantyhose, lip gloss.

They are confidants, protectors and managers. They are the chaperones for the Lilac Festival.

As chaperones, one of their jobs is to make sure the queen and princesses are on time. That’s not an easy job, considering that during festival week these young women make more public appearances than Jane Fonda on a book tour.

Cecelia Stephens is royalty vice president this year. Her job is to supervise the princesses, oversee the chaperones, take care of schedules, and communicate with the girls’ families and schools.

Stephens has seen how all this comes together from the parents’ and schools’ viewpoints.

She retired from Central Valley School District two years ago and is the mother of Michelle Stephens, who was University High School’s Lilac princess in 1992.

One of this year’s chaperones, Joanne Ferris, is also the mother of a former princess, Anna Ferris, the 2004 princess from Ferris High School. Linda Cooper, Marianne Frick and Holly Livecche are also chaperones this year.

The chaperones are always women, and they’ve seen a lot of crises.

“We always have girls who get lost,” Stephens said. “We call their cell phones if they’re late and will talk them through directions.

“Princess time is 15 minutes early to each event.”

A few years ago Stephens recognized one of the Lilac princesses in the car behind her. She watched in her rearview mirror as the girl struggled to pick something out of her teeth. The next thing she knew, the girl took out her tiara and used it as a toothpick.

One year there was a boyfriend problem. The boyfriend of one of the princesses broke up with her right before festival week and then stalked her the entire week.

“Sometimes they feel left out. It’s all about communication,” Stephens said.

“I tell the girls to make a copy of their schedule and share it with their family and boyfriend. That way they’ll see how busy you’re going to be.

“If he’s worth it, he’ll understand,” Stephens said.

There have been some close calls over the years.

When the festival made an appearance at a parade on the West Side of the state, a princess attending college there agreed to ride on the float. She was supposed to meet the chaperones at the hotel, but the morning of the parade she didn’t show up.

No one answered at her house. Apparently her alarm didn’t go off.

The float was in line ready to go with no one on it. The chaperones left frantic phone messages for her.

Then they saw her running up to the float with her gown and shoes in hand. They quickly made arrangements for her to change her clothes at a nearby house, and the show went on.

The chaperones take turns attending overnight out-of-town events, and they travel to numerous one-day events at neighboring communities.

“Putting on a parade takes so much more than people see.” Stephens said.

“The work behind the scene is done by dedicated volunteers.”