Thursday, June 25, 2009

And it all starts over...

I've already received information about one of the first local pageants of the season:

Miss West Central Ohio (closed) and Miss Square Fair (open)

* The deadline has been extended to to JULY 24th, so hopefully women who compete in Miss Lake Festival will continue on the path to Miss Ohio, as Mercer County is become a source of many successes!

* Miss WCO/SF will take place Friday, August 7th and air on both WLIO and FOX Lima and will be hosted by former Miss America Kay Lani Raye Rafko.

* Miss WCO and SF will each earn $1500 and an electric guitar and amp, a Sears game table, a Seiko watch and an overnight package with dinner and bowling.

* In-kind scholarships will be available to the following schools: Ohio Northern ($60,000 total), Northwestern in Lima ($20,000 total), Wright State Lake Campus ($500 to any contestant) and Rhodes College ($1,500 total). Note, stipulations apply to these in-kind prizes.

* To apply, consult the Miss Ohio and Miss WCO websites.

Other early pageants:

* Miss Lake Festival and Teen - Monday July 20th
(applications closed)
* Miss Greater Cleveland / Cuyahoga County - July 25th
(application deadline - July 1st)
* Miss North Coast - August 1st (application deadline - July 15th)

*I'm very impressed that the Miss Ohio website has been updated with info for several locals, but EDs, please do not hesitate to email me and I will publish your promotions!

On the other hand...

It's very exciting that a new season is beginning, but I have to say, one of my biggest pageant pet peeves is when people obsessively ask "Is she coming back? Is she coming back?!" The 23 women who didn't win Miss Ohio last weekend should take some time to debrief, unwind, shake the glitter off, ice the blisters from the stilettos and their jaw muscles from all the fake smiling! Those women have every right to feel everything from relief to disappointment to extreme anger! Months of preparation and hundreds, even thousands, of dollars went into a week that passed in the blink of an eye; there are a lot of emotions that need to be processed and that takes time.

I want to remind people that the emotions that may have been inferred, overheard or rumored after the pageant may not be accurate and should not be a reflection of any contestants future competition goals. (No, I didn't hear anything, that's not about anyone in particular, but just a reality of the moments after any pageant.) I should have written this before Saturday, but parents, EDs, and contestants, if anyone asks about next year just say "we'll see." Even if you know you're not competing, say "maybe" or "it'll depend on school..." etc. Negative reputations are created for women who swear they're done, then come back.

Competing and performing is an indefinable high. It can be so unbelievably frustrating and devastating, but a few weeks or months later, you find yourself wanting to be subjected to it all over again. From the high heels to the angst, pageant contestants are total masochists!

Anyway, the message boards have been down the past day or two and I'm glad, because I'm sick of the conversations about who will or will not return. For an issue that does need to continue to be talked about and addressed, make sure you check out Jillian's blog.

3 comments:

  1. $3000! Really?

    On the website for WCO, it says $1000 but perhaps that was changed recently?

    Just wanted to make sure of the validity of the money amount, if so, that is awesome and I congratulate that pageant on their wonderful sponsorship!! :D

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  2. Oops, no, it was $3000 total, $1500 each.

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  3. Thanks! :D That's still phenomenal.

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