Miss Mississippi competition is back with a few changes

Published 2:03 pm Thursday, May 6, 2021

The Miss Mississippi Competition was put on hold last year due to the pandemic, but with the decline in COVID cases, candidates who were planning to compete for the title will have to wait no longer.

Preliminary competitions are set to kick off June 23 and will continue for three consecutive nights. The fourth and final night of the competition will be held June 26 and a winner will be crowned 2021 Miss Mississippi.

All competitions will be held at the Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Dr. Briggs Hopson Blvd.

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This year, while most of the traditions of the competition will remain, a few adjustments have been made to ensure the candidates remain healthy, Miss Mississippi Corporation executive director David Blackledge said.

“Miss America has a COVID protocol that all the states will be following for the protection of our candidates,” Blackledge said.

This will begin with all of the candidates testing negative for the virus before making their way to the River City.

And once here, Blackledge said, they will be monitored daily throughout the week to ensure the safety of everyone.

Also in an effort to ensure the candidates remain healthy, the autograph session that has typically followed the Miss Mississippi Parade will not be held.

The autograph sessions, which in the past were hosted downtown and at George Carr Buick GMC, will continue.

“Social distancing will be observed at these events,” Blackledge said.

During the competition, candidates will not be required to wear a mask on stage when they are competing individually, but they will be donning face coverings during the group performances.

Masks will also be required of audience members once inside the convention center, and, “If the conditions continue to remain as they are,” Blackledge said, “We will be able to have 100 percent capacity with masks at the Vicksburg Convention Center.”

Like most businesses, the Miss Mississippi Corporation was financially impacted by the pandemic.

The event will still be televised, Blackledge said, but this year it will be live-streamed.

“We are doing a live stream feed through all of the television stations that have carried the competition in the past. By doing the live stream it will save the organization a considerable amount of money in production cost during this pandemic year,” he said.

The preliminary competitions for the Miss Mississippi Competition will start at 7 p.m. and be held June 23 through 25. The final night of competition and crowning will begin at 8 p.m. June 26.

Tickets are $125 for all four competitions.

For more information, call 601-638-6746.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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