The Miss America competition is officially underway! The contestants have been broken into three groups, each of which will take turns competing in the talent, evening gown, swimsuit, and onstage question portions over the course of three nights. Two awards for Lifestyle and Fitness and Talent are handed out each night. The winners for tonight were:
Miss Florida and Miss Ohio!
Miss Florida – Lifestyle & Fitness
Miss Ohio – Talent
Both of the winners were from my group of 20. I am off to a good start. Miss Ohio also mentioned in her post-pageant interview that it has been exactly 50 years since the first and only ventriloquist won Miss America. And Vonda Van Dyke, Miss America 1965, was there tonight to cheer her on. The two have become good friends.
The scariest moment of the night came when Miss Rhode Island fainted and fell on stage due to heat exhaustion. She had be assisted by paramedics and was taken the hospital. There has been some speculation that it may have been a stroke. Lets hope she is feeling better and makes a full recovery.
Here are some pictures of Miss Rhode Island before she fainted:
Then next thing you know, everyone was huddled around her.
This makes the second pageant in a row that a serious medical emergency has occurred during the preliminaries. You will recall that last year Miss Florida tore her ACL during the preliminary talent portion. These pageants are tougher than they look, folks.
Here are some more pictures of a few of my favorite contestants from tonight:
Miss Iowa singing and practicing her introduction.
Miss New Jersey dancing and practicing her introduction.
Miss Texas in swimwear and evening gown.
Miss California in her evening gown.
Miss District of Columbia on the piano.
Miss Michigan fielding an onstage question.
Miss Illinois singing opera.
Miss Hawaii showing off her swimsuit and evening gown.
Miss Minnesota practicing her wave.
One contestant I’m beginning to wish I included on my list: Miss Alabama.
And last but not least, our lovely Miss America chatting with the host.
Goodnight everyone and see you tomorrow night.
The Downtown Life 