The Australian Central Highlands Easter Sunflower Festival Queen is visiting Altona.

Anna Rixon was crowned Easter Sunflower Queen in Emerald, Australia and will be participating in the Manitoba Sunflower Festival this weekend.

“It's beautiful and green here, the people are just lovely and very welcoming,” she said.

Rixon is looking forward to meeting this year's contestants and learning more about Manitoba.

She says that Altona's festival is bigger than  the one in Australia, but both have a lot of community support.

In Australia, Rixon's title as Queen allowed her to participate in charities and fundraisers, including the Return Services League and Relay for Life. She also laid a wreath with the mayor in honour of Anzac Day.

She is looking forward to sharing her experiences in Altona with future contestants back home.

Currently, Anna is staying with her host 2016 Manitoba Sunflower Queen Tiana Reimer and her family. Reimer is preparing to pass down her crown this weekend at the festival.

“It's been an amazing year and it's been filled with so many incredible experiences,” Reimer said.

She adds the highlight of her time as Queen was taking part in community events and going to Australia.

Reimer said she is proud of her experience, which has helped her grow as a person.

“The more effort you put into it, the more excitement comes out of it ... everything that you do you feel good about it and proud of it because it's something that you are doing for your community,” she said.