Contest History
Held annually since 1926, the Battle of Flowers® Oratorical Contest is the oldest continuous university and college-level forensic competition in the state of Texas. The competition’s purpose is to perpetuate appreciation of the history of Texas. Every year, the event awards generous monetary prizes to its five (5) top finalists and to the department of each top three (3) winners’ university advisor.
2024 Oratorical Contest
The 2024 Oratorical Contest was a huge success! Congratulations to all the contestants and thank you to our judges, sponsors, and guests for attending this year’s event at The Witte Museum.
- 1st Place – Emy Pablico, Abilene Christian University, “A Marriage of Equals: Tradition and Modernism in O’Neil Ford’s Little Chapel-in-the-Woods”
- 2nd Place – Lebone Mohloane, University of the Incarnate Word, “21 Stacks of Modular Architecture, Hilton Palacio del Rio: Chiseled in Stone”
- 3rd Place – Susie Brewer, Texas Christian University, “Refusing to Sit on the Sidelines: Texas Centennial Park: A Chiseled Example of America’s Golden Age of Architecture”
- 4th Place – Arlin Khan, The University of Texas at Dallas, “’Old Red’: The Heart of Texas Medicine”
- 5th Place – Stephanie Newburry, Abilene Christian University, “El Paso High School; The Timeless Lady on the Hill”
Watch the following videos to view this year’s 1st place winning speech from Emy Pablico, plus the contest finals round and top five speeches!
Donate
Your support of our contest enables us to make significant prize money available to our winning students. Please email here to get information on how to sponsor our contest or one of our winner’s scholarships.
Past Contests
Click here to view our 2023 winners.
Click here to view our 2022 winners.
