After a year’s hiatus, the Miss Vicksburg Pageant and the Miss Vicksburg Outstanding Teen Pageant will return in full force in February, bringing with them two new competitions: Miss Riverbend and Miss Riverbend Outstanding Teen.

To enter or attend

The four pageants will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Vicksburg Auditorium. Pageant eligibility rules and sign-up information are available through the local director, Amanda Monsour, 601-634-1930 or 601-415-0966. Ticket information and sign-up deadlines are not yet available.

“Last year we didn’t have the Miss Vicksburg Pageant and I know a lot of people were disappointed that there was not a local girl to represent Vicksburg, especially because the Miss Mississippi pageant is held here,” said Amanda Monsour, who has agreed to direct the event. “We’ve also noticed that girls from Vicksburg are winning competitions elsewhere in the state and we wanted them to be able to represent their hometown. There is a lot of talent in Vicksburg, and these girls deserve a chance to be seen.”

The Miss Riverbend events will be sweeps pageants, meaning they are open only to girls who competed in previous preliminaries during the competition year and finished in the Top 5.

“This is the first time we’ve ever approved a sweeps pageant,” said Miss Mississippi Corporation executive director David Blackledge. “It is the only sweeps pageant in the state and will be the last preliminary pageant of the year. It is a concept that we got from the Miss Georgia Pageant that will give everybody who did not win a local or open pageant an opportunity to win a title.”

Winners of the Miss Vicksburg Pageant, open only to residents of Claiborne, Issaquena, Sharkey and Warren counties, and the Miss Riverbend Pageant will continue to the Miss Mississippi pageant later in the year. Miss Mississippi is a scholarship competition open to women 17 to 24 and features off-stage interview, evening wear, talent and swimwear.

Similarly, the winners of Miss Vicksburg Outstanding Teen and Miss Riverbend Outstanding Teen will continue to the Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen pageant, a scholarship competition open to young girls ages 13 to 17 who meet character requirements.

“We’re very pleased and excited to have Miss Vicksburg back and we’re also looking forward to establishing this new pageant, Miss Riverbend, which will allow a lot of new girls to compete in Vicksburg,” Blackledge said.

Information for those who wish to compete in Miss Vicksburg, Miss Riverbend, Miss Vicksburg Outstanding Teen or Miss Riverbend Outstanding Teen is available through Monsour, who can be reached at 601-634-1930 or 601-415-0966.

All four pageants will be held Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Vicksburg Auditorium. Ticket information was not yet available.

Monsour said she hopes to hold the Miss Vicksburg pageants before the Miss Riverbend pageants in the future to give girls an opportunity to compete in both.

The Miss Mississippi Pageant in 2009 will be the 52nd. There was no Miss Vicksburg in the 2008 state pageant for the first time because no one agreed to organize and conduct a Miss Vicksburg Pageant.

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Contact Megan Holland at mholland@vicksburgpost.com.