This is Brittany Cuevas’ first year as a Tracy Dry Bean Festival pageant winner, but the experience this weekend will be special in more ways than one.

While Cuevas, 12, is this year’s Bean Princess, her friend Madeline Freseman will reign as Bean Queen. The girls, who live about a block apart, said they’re happy for each other and are excited to start their tenures as bean royalty.

Last year, Brittany competed in the Bean Pageant but was the second runner-up. Pageant coordinator Juana Dement said her preparation at this year’s pageant in August really stood out.

“She put a lot of thought into her talent,” Dement said. “She prepared very, very well to execute that particular song. It was a great performance.

“They have a lot fun with it, but they also know that they understand the polling process and they prepare themselves to excel in those areas.”

To wow the panel of judges, Brittany sang “My Boyfriend’s Back,” a 1950s song that fit the theme of the pageant. She said the song just “had a ring to it” that she liked.

“It gave her a chance to be kind of sassy, like she is normally,” said Suzanne Cuevas, Brittany’s mother.

Like Madeline, Brittany also loves singing and performing. Suzanne said that sometimes, her daughter will just make songs up. As leader of the Tracy Learning Center’s spirit squad, she gets to show off her student pride in front of the school.

“It just came to me one day, and I started singing,” said Brittany, who also enjoys camping and visiting Great America. “It expresses my feelings.”

Brittany auditioned for the pageant to see if she could do it, and so far, working with the Chamber of Commerce and Bean Festival officials has been a blast, she said. Her performance at this weekend’s Bean Festival, she said, will be her first time singing in front of a real audience.

As Bean Princess, Brittany will open this weekend’s festival with Madeline and Mayor Brent Ives. She will also be on hand for festivities such as ribbon cuttings and will perform at other Tracy events.

“It was fun meeting new people, seeing where you could go, going to new grand openings,” Brittany said. “I get to go on parades and openings of new businesses.” •

Meet Brittany Cuevas

• AGE: 12

• EDUCATION: Sixth-grader at Tracy Learning Center

• HOW LONG IN TRACY: All her life

• TALENT: Singing

• FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE: 2008 second runner-up

• In the Spotlight is a weekly profile in Our Town. To nominate someone to be In the Spotlight or to comment on this week’s story, contact Our Town Editor Justin Lafferty at 830-4269 or jlafferty@tracypress.com.