Miss Westchester 2011 and Miss Weschester Teen 2011 is...

On September 5, 2010 the first annual Miss Westchester and Miss Westchester Teen was held at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. This was not a typical pageant for me because my friend Kelly was competing. It was her first pageant ever! A couple weeks prior to the competition her grandmother passed away. From the looks of it she was not going to compete. But a few days before the pageant I get a text from Kelly stating she will be competing! I was extremely happy that she was following through with her commitment, but I was a bit nervous. Could we pull this off in such short notice?


The pageant was 2 days (Saturday and Sunday). The night before the pageant Kelly and I got together in hopes to be able to pull together her wardrobe for the pageant. I still was doubting we would be able to pull this together on such short notice. The interview outfit was the easiest part, then the swimsuit and then the gown. The hardest part out of everything was finding a pair of shoes to go with the gown. After an unsuccessful shoe hunt at her house we went to her neighbors where Kelly checked 3 closest before finding the perfect shoe for her evening gown.

Kelly's Official Head Shot

Saturday were interviews and a press conference. Both were not open to the general public. Finally Sunday was here!! As we sat in the theater waiting for the show to begin I was clueless on what to expect. The house went dark. The stage lights slowly brightened, revealing both the teen and miss contestants dressed in black cocktail dresses, and posing on a platform. The contestants performed intricate walking patterns and fun dance moves. The next phase of competition was every competitors worst nightmare... swimsuit. I was praying Kelly would not trip and fall. The announcer says, "Next contestant is Kelly Martin..." As I held my breath and crossed my fingers she walked to the center of the platform and down the stairs. She then hits 3 points on the stage and walks off. She stood tall proud and maintained a smile! I was impressed. Then the next phased of competition was evening gown. She once again maintained grace and beauty. Finally, on stage question. Kelly interned with fox news and dreams to one day be an delivering entertainment news to homes across America (Below you will find a video on air). I knew she could speak well, but being her first pageant I did not know if it would throw her off. She picked her question out of the fish bowl and has the perfect answer short, sweet and too the point!


After all phases of competition the judges scores were tallied up and awards were given out. Although Kelly did not walk away the winner, she was still the winner in my eyes. To have the courage to get on that stage for your first time and only preparing the day before is incredibly inspiring to me.


The winner of Miss Westchester 2011 was Christina DeLeon and the winner of Miss Westchester Teen 2011 was Samantha Gold! The rest of the results and contestants head shots can be found on http://www.westchesterpageants.com/


Congratulations to all the contestants, the directors and the staff! It was a fantastic pageant and I truly enjoyed being in the audience.