Pageants in city Sunday

Published 8:04 pm Friday, October 28, 2016

Vicksburg will be a little bit more glamorous this weekend as women and teens from Mississippi will come to town vying for a crown.

Two pageants will be held in Vicksburg Sunday in an effort to crown 14 contestants on the journey to Miss Mississippi and Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen.

“If we have enough contestants, we crown seven young ladies to go to Miss Mississippi and seven young ladies to go to the Outstanding Teen,” pageant director Tammy Wells said.

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The pageants are set to start 3 p.m. Sunday at the Vicksburg High School auditorium.

“We hope and pray that it starts at 3 p.m.,” Wells said, because a lot depends on how many contestants show up Sunday morning. The pageant is open, meaning there cannot be a deadline to enter. Therefore, Wells does not know how many contestants will be competing.

Titles the contestants will be competing for are Miss Vicksburg, Miss Warren County, Miss Red Carpet City, Miss Delta Blues, Miss Pride of the South, Miss Belle of the Bayou and Miss North Central Mississippi as well as those same titles for the Outstanding Teens.

“We have actually two pageants. We crown one set and then wait about 20 or 30 minutes for the girls to take a break and then start another pageant and crown,” Wells said. “According to Miss America rules I can’t crown but four Miss contestants on stage (per pageant).”

The first pageant will have a Halloween theme with a soundtrack of holiday music like “Monster Mash” that will play as contestants take the stage. The second pageant’s theme is “Great Things Await You.”

“I am so tired of the election and the negativity of the election and the negativity of the United State of America right now so I wanted to do a positive themed pageant,” Wells said. “Great things do await these young women.”

Both the teens and Miss contestants will compete in onstage question, interview, evening gown, and talent. The only difference between the two age groups is the teen contestants will compete in active wear while the Miss contestants compete in swimwear, just like the Miss Mississippi and Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Pageants.

Contestants in teen pageant must be between the ages of 13 and 17 years old and no more than a junior in high school, and for the Miss competition contestants must be a 17-year-old senior in high school up to a 24 year old.

Tickets are $10 to attend either pageant, but those who pay to attend the first pageant will get into the second pageant free of charge. Miss Mississippi 2016 Laura Lee Lewis and Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen 2016 Stella Ford will emcee the pageants.