27 January 2024
The third time really was the charm for Jennifer Westerhaus, the newly crowned Aurora, Queen of the Snows of the 2024 St. Paul Winter Carnival.
After running as a candidate for the royal family in 2013 and 2014, the Chaska woman with St. Paul roots decided it was time to try again.
Now 45 years old, she hopes to inspire others with her middle-age sparkle.
“It’s never too late to pursue your dreams,” Westerhaus said. “You’ll never know unless you try.”
While the modern-era guidelines for royals regarding age and marital/familial status were updated years ago by the St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation — the nonprofit that produces the Winter Carnival — it’s been awhile since a mature queen has worn the crown.
Through the years, though, the diversity of life experiences has ranged from grandmother princesses to single-mom queens to proud immigrants.
It was the quality of Westerhaus’ leadership traits, her kind and caring nature, that stood out, says Ashleigh Farrell, the 2012 Queen of the Snows and a member of this year’s Selection Committee.
“We were really impressed with her ability to be a humble leader,” Hayes said. “We were looking for somebody who could embody the role of Aurora, and she was a standout.”
St. Paul roots
Jennifer Westerhaus, the 2024 Aurora, Queen of the Snows, stands with King Boreas LXXXVII Steve Doody during the St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Coronation at RiverCentre in St. Paul on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
While Westerhaus and her husband, Kevin, and their three kids have lived in Chaska for years, our city’s new queen has roots on this side of the metro — deep roots.
The Minnesota Historical Society’s archives include an interview with Westerhaus’ great-grandfather, Alfonso de Leon, an immigrant from Mexico who moved to Minnesota in 1929, where he worked at the Armour and Co. meatpacking plant and became involved in Mexican-American community organizations and activities in St. Paul.
Westerhaus often honors her Mexican heritage today with food, served up in the “Skol Cave” (garage) that she and her husband welcome people into on game days.
“We’re big Vikings fans,” she said.
One of her most popular items?
“Fried tacos,” she said, “made from scratch.”
To her, the get-togethers are just as much about hospitality as football and food, though. She thinks of her Mexican grandmother, and how everyone was welcome at the table for her meals.
“I want to create a space where people feel welcome,” Westerhaus said.
A Vulcan memory
The Winter Carnival “Legend” involves characters who personify the clash between winter and spring. As Aurora, Westerhaus is on winter’s side, but her first memory of the Winter Carnival involves the Vulcans, who symbolize the warmth of spring.
“I was 5 or 6, living in St. Paul Park, standing on the corner with bare feet, watching a parade go by,” she remembered.
That’s when a Vulcan, dressed a red costume and a giant smile, approached and gave her a hug and a smudge.
Her younger sister was scared, but Westerhaus was intrigued.
“After he left, I asked my dad, ‘Who was that?’” she recalled with a smile.
Still, she’s OK with representing winter now.
“I’m a person who loves being outside,” she said.
“Someday …”
Jennifer Westerhaus wipes aways tears as she is crowned the 2024 Aurora, Queen of the Snows by outgoing Queen of the Snows Jocelyn O’Neill during the St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Coronation at RiverCentre in St. Paul on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
A graduate of Woodbury High School and the College of St. Benedict, Westerhaus has juggled raising her children — Lauren, 17; Emma, 14; and Drew, 10 — with a career in finance and, in recent years, stepping up to help her mother after her father passed away. As a volunteer, she also serves as president of the West Lakes Chapter of the National Charity League, a philanthropic organization for mothers and daughters.
“The three pillars of the organization are to provide opportunities for leadership development, cultural experiences and community service — not only to daughters but to moms as well,” Westerhaus said.
Her plate is full — and for a time, so full that the timing wasn’t right for her to get involved with Winter Carnival again. First, her daughters were in competitive dance. Then, COVID hit. Her father, who supported her Winter Carnival dreams, also passed away after a short illness.
“But I knew,” she said, “that someday it would be the right time to run again.”
That time, of course, was 2023.
Even though she’s still busy — her plate also includes staying active with fitness challenges and looking after the family’s two dogs — her kids and especially her husband are stepping up to support their queen and her dream.
“I have a very supportive husband,” Westerhaus said.
‘It was surreal’
When her name was announced as Queen of the Snows during the Royal Coronation at the St. Paul RiverCentre on Friday night, Westerhaus covered her face with her hands.
“I’d been waiting 10 years to do this,” she said. “It was surreal.”
As a member of the royal family, leading along with King Boreas Rex, 62-year-old Stephen Doody of South St. Paul, Westerhaus’ role will continue beyond the 10 days of Winter Carnival (which runs through Sunday, Feb. 4). Throughout the year, the royals will make public appearances at places including schools and nursing homes; they will travel to locations as far away as Winnipeg and Florida; they will wave in many parades throughout the metro and beyond.
After the isolation of COVID, meeting thousands of people appeals to Westerhaus more than ever.
She encourages everyone else to consider engaging with our winter festival, too.
“There are so many volunteer opportunities,” she said.
Go for it
On Saturday, hours after coronation and just a couple hours of sleep, Westerhaus was up grabbing coffee in the lobby of the St. Paul Hotel. Dressed in her crown and sash and the white attire befitting a snow queen, she settled into an armchair by the hearth and reflected on delayed dreams.
Women sometimes think they’re “too old” or it’s “too late” to pursue their dreams, she’s noticed.
She doesn’t agree.
“I want to be a source of inspiration for women young and old,” she said.
Already, her sparkly reign illustrates that you can make your way back to your dream.
“Life doesn’t stop after a certain age,” Westerhaus said. “You only have so many years to live your life, you might as well live it.”
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