Las Vegas Welcomes Miss America Hopefuls
It was an event steeped in tradition, sparkling smiles and tiaras as Planet Hollywood hosted a welcome ceremony for contestants with the lofty aspiration of becoming the next Miss America. The Miss America pageant takes place Jan. 30.
Fifty well-coiffed and bubbly young women were introduced to the public and members of the media at Planet Hollywood (Jan. 21). There are actually 53 contestants, but three were unable to attend the welcome ceremony because of flight delays. (Vegas has been in the throes of a major storm front in recent days.)
Of course, we got some exclusive photos!
Off the charts on the Poise-O-Meter.
In an interesting side note, one of the contestants is Miss Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico hasn’t been represented in the Miss America pageant since 1961. And, yes, we knew that off the top of our head.
Puerto Rico has clearly made great strides in genetic engineering in recent years.
Oh, and before we forget, the “steeped in tradition” thing relates to the fact that the Miss America pageant began in 1921.
Miss Washington shows off her pearly whites.
Here’s a Miss America factoid. Contestants are between the ages of 17 and 24.
Extra bonus factoid: Miss America of 1982, Elizabeth Ward, won her crown wearing a dress made out of her grandmother’s lace tablecloth.
Super extra bonus factoid? The woman who holds the Miss America title typically travels 20,000 per month during her year-long speaking tour.
We weren't aware the Virgin Islands were a state, but what do we know?
There were several crowd favorites at the welcome gathering, with a number of contestants bringing along friends and family from their home states to cheer them on. It may come as no surprise that the biggest round of applause went to Miss Nevada. That’s either because the Miss America pageant is being held in Nevada, or the crowd just really loves the idea of rooting for a contestant representing a state where the “State Fossil” is the ichthyosaur. (No, really.)
Miss Nevada does not seem to mind having the hometown advantage.
Learn more about the Miss America competition, and follow Planet Hollywood on Twitter for all the latest Miss America news.
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