The pageant will take place on Friday, Sept. 3, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Museum Park area at the fairgrounds in Lakeport.
“We're really looking forward to hosting this event during the Lake County Fair,” said Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons.
“The date worked well, and we had a stage available in the Museum Park, which is pretty quiet and well separate from the demolition derby in the grandstands and the other stages,” Persons said. “We worked with Konocti Christian Academy to provide a classroom to be used for a dressing room just adjacent to the stage, and it all seems to be working out. It should be a great night.”
In the 1960s and 1970s, the pageant was held in conjunction with the annual county fair, but in the late 1970s the pageant date was changed and the event has taken place several weeks prior to the Lake County Fair in most years since.
This year's pageant includes six contestants for the title of Miss Lake County, and three contestants for the title of Miss Teen Lake County.
The pageant is an official preliminary to the Miss California and Miss America pageants which are talent based scholarship programs, and is not associated with the Miss USA beauty contest system.
The Miss America scholarship system is the largest provider of scholarships for young women in the world.
In 2009, the Miss America Organization and its state and local affiliates provided more than $45 million in scholarships to young women.
The 2010 contestants for Miss Lake County include Lauren Berlin, Alissa Iaccino, Carly Davis, Jennifer Humble, Salsei Monthei and Michelle Wells. Contestants for Miss Teen Lake County include Sarah Christensen, Faith Hornby and Makayla Paulson.
Like in all Miss America preliminaries, the contestants are judged in five categories. The one with the highest overall score among the panel of judges is crowned Miss Lake County. The categories include a personal interview (25 percent of total score), talent (35 percent of total score), evening wear (20 percent of total score), swimwear (15 percent of total score), and the on-stage question (5 percent of total score).
In the personal interview, each contestant participates in a private interview with the panel of judges. Scoring is based on overall communication skills including personality and intelligence, overall first impression and personal appearance, and whether the contestant possesses quality that would make her a good Miss America. The audience doesn't get to see this interview, as it takes place earlier in the day.
For the talent portion, each contestant performs a 2 minute routine of their own choosing. Scoring is based on skill, personality, interpretive ability, technical skill level, stage presence and a totality of all elements. Talent performances can range from singing to dramatic monologues to playing a musical instrument.
During the evening wear portion, each contestant appears onstage in an outfit of her own choosing representative of something she would wear to a social event. Scoring is based on overall first impression, sense of confidence, personality and stage presence, walk and posture, appropriateness of attire and sense of attractiveness.
For swimwear, each contestant appears briefly on stage in a swimsuit of her own choosing. Scoring is based on overall first impression, statement of physical fitness and health, overall physique which is pleasing to her height, weight, and bone structure, walk, posture and grace, sense of confidence, and presence on stage.
The on-stage interview phase of competition is designed for the contestant to make an on-stage statement of her interests, opinions, and aspirations.
Overall "first impression," charisma, and stage presence to be a spokeswoman for the state/local organization will be evaluated. Judges will give special attention to whether or not the contestant answered the question she is asked and if she had the commanding presence to make the audience want to listen to her.
The pageant is a separately ticketed event from the Lake County Fair, with advanced sale tickets that include both fair admission and pageant admission on sale now for a reduced price of $15.
On the day of the event, attendees will need to purchase both a full price fair admission and a full price pageant admission for entrance into the pageant venue.
Sales outlets for the reduced price pageant tickets include CPS Country Air Properties, Your One Stop Party Shop, Skin Fitness, Healing Earth, Focused on Wine, Totorica Plumbing and Elegant Touch.
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