Renton resident Mary Pearl Kawamura is one of four young women who will compete for a crown during the 50th annual Greater Seattle Japanese Community Queen Scholarship Program at 7 p.m. Saturday at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

The program will be at Benaroya Hall in the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, 200 University St. Admission is $25.

Kawamura, 19, is a graduate of Lindbergh High School and attends the University of Washington. She is the daughter of Linda and Todd Kawamura.

The Japanese Community Queen will be chosen by a community panel of judges. She will be selected based on academic achievement, leadership skills, community involvement, personal accomplishments, self-expression, communication skills and creativity. The queen is given two titles: The Greater Seattle Japanese Community Queen and the Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival Queen.

Throughout her yearlong reign, the queen and her court represent the Greater Seattle Japanese community at local community events, as well as at the Cherry Blossom festivals in San Francisco and Honolulu, and the Nisei Week Japanese Festival in Los Angeles. The queen also represents the Japanese community in the Seafair Scholarship Program for Women in July, and the annual Kobe Festival in May in Seattle’s sister city, Kobe, Japan.

This year’s golden anniversary will be highlighted by a reunion of past queens and courts preceding the coronation.