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Seventeen to vie for Miss PrincetonBy Joel Stottrup Seventeen young women are competing in this year's Miss Princeton contest which will end with a pageant and coronation on Sunday, June 6, at 7 p.m. in the high school performing arts center. The candidates are Sunny Taylor, Stacy Stevenson, Emily Brooks, Ruth Heitke, Marissa Clarin, Brenna Price, Rachel Perkins, Staci Arnold, Candy Dykers, Hannah Morisset, Jessie Luebesmier, Heather Johnson, Jenny Bronder, Bryony Fraser, Amber Oeffling, Lisa Pearson and Heather Schuldt. The pageant will kick off the June 6-13 Rum River Festival. Twenty candidates signed up originally but three have dropped out. Some of the 17 candidates were at a get-together last Thursday evening with pageant co-coordinator Pam Fry to begin going over information for the competition. Some of the candidates were also at the Elim Home and Caley House Saturday morning when they gave out carnations to women at each of those two places in honor of Mother's Day. Assisting the candidates were Fry and LeeAnn Hartigan and her daughter, Jara, the reigning Miss Princeton, and one of the two princesses, Alyssa Maples. "You Ought to be in Pictures" will be the theme for the pageant and festival and that is reflected on the Rum River Festival buttons that will be sold to help fund the festival. (More information on the festival can be found in a future edition.) Part of the process for selecting this year's Princeton royalty are judge interviews prior to the pageant. During the pageant, the candidates will perform a dance together. Also scheduled are a walk in their evening gowns in front of the audience. They will also give a time-restricted presentation on their sponsors. Kortney Pruett, the 2002 Miss Princeton, is the pageant co-coordinator. "It's been very busy but I've got good help," said Fry Thursday evening. The effort to attract candidates for this year's competition began at the end of February and was open to females age 17 to 22 who live in the Princeton school district. The reigning royalty, Hartigan, Maples and Laura Miron (the other princess), have done a "phenomenal job" in talking about being part of the Princeton royalty and the fun they have had being the city's ambassadors, said Fry. The candidates don't plan to have a car wash this year because it doesn't raise much money, said Fry. They will be working at a bratwurst booth at Coborn's. A formal dinner is planned May 25 when the candidates will review etiquette. Dance practices will also take place at some point. Bonnie Snyder will be the choreographer and PHS choir director Mark Potvin will be the pageant emcee. One little twist will be added to the festival parade concerning royalty. The parade, which will be the evening of June 10, will find the current royalty riding in the front part of the parade. When they reach the end of the parade route, they will be dropped off and the float will be brought around so the new royalty will ride it at the end of the parade, said Fry. Organizers had to come up with a way to get the outgoing royalty into this year's parade since they weren't in last year's due to the pageant taking place after the parade, Fry noted. One more fact: If you like watching royalty ambassadors from different communities, Fry said many are planning to come from out of town to the Princeton pageant. Mrs. Minnesota is planning to be among them, according to Fry. Princeton Union-Eagle |