ALBANY — The city of Albany has a new Tulip Queen.
Syaira Liverpool was chosen to receive the royal title at the coronation ceremony at Washington Park’s Lakehouse Stage on Saturday, a key part of the city’s annual Tulip Festival.
The 22-year-old, who returned to Albany after receiving a sociology degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling this fall. She want to become a college and career readiness counselor. She previously told the Times Union that she hopes to establish a scholarship to help students afford college.
“The Albany community poured so much into me. They instilled so many important values that I still carry with me to this day,” Liverpool said. “I want to show my gratitude and servitude and give back to the community that I love.”
She succeeds Abigail Williams, a freelance video game designer known in the South End neighborhood for work with The RED Bookshelf, which offers free books to children. Under Williams’ leadership, last year’s Tulip Court expanded its typical youth-centric programming to include reading programs for seniors at Livingston Apartments and Westview Homes, Williams said.
The other four finalists for 2026 Tulip Queen — Alexis Savoie, 24, Phylicia Hinton, 22, Trinity Tarver, 23, and Olivia Rose, 18 — will now join the Tulip Court.
Over the next year, Liverpool and the Tulip Court will have the opportunity to implement educational programming throughout Albany that’s focused on reading and community.
The city’s royal ambassadors will also receive scholarships to support their educational endeavors. Liverpool will receive $5,000 while the other four members of the court will each receive $1,500.
Liverpool joins a long line of Tulip Queens. Albany crowned its first Tulip Queen, Jeanne Coakley, in 1949.