IVINS- The annual Miss Ivins Scholarship Pageant will begin at 6 p.m. on March 24 in the Hafen Theater at Tuacahn Center for the Arts, 1100 Tuacahn Drive, in Ivins.
The pageant crowns a princess, first attendant, second attendant and a Miss Congeniality. The princess receives a $1,000 scholarship to the college of her choice, the first and second attendants each receive a $500 scholarships to the college of their choice, and Miss Congeniality receives her title.
The scholarships are funded through Ivins City and have been set aside last year and this year for the Miss Ivins Pageant. The Miss Ivins Pageant has, though, been around since 1972.
“When they are ready to go to school they come back to the city get their money that can be used for anything pertaining to schooling,” Horlacher said.
This year’s pageant has had more contestants enter than in years past. Pageant Director Tonya Horlacher said the pageant normally receives approximately 11 entries, but this year there are 16 contestants who will participate in the events.
Participants must be 14-18 years of age before Sept. 1 of this year. The participants must also have lived in Ivins or Washington County for at least six months.
The pageant includes an interview by a panel of judges, an active wear presentation, talent and evening wear.
Ivins is the only city in the area that has an active wear portion of the pageant, Horlacher said. Active wear can include anything from butterfly catching to horse backing riding attire.
Any participant can compete as many times as she desires as long as she has not won princess and abides by the age and residency requirements.
The reigning Miss Ivins Princess is 15 year old Missy Madsen. She has lived in Ivins for six years, and last year was her first year competing in the Miss Ivins Pageant. The royalty is required to contribute to the Miss Ivins parade float, to contribute hours of community service and to attend many community events representing the City of Ivins.
“[Being princess] means I am representing the city, and I should be a good example to all the other little girls who look up to me,” Madsen said.
Madsen has not decided where she will attend college.
Fifteen year old Kamri Hafen is the reigning Miss Ivins First Attendant and has lived in Ivins her entire life. She is also participating in this year’s competition because she had such a positive experience.
“I loved [competing] it was a good experience:” Hafen said. “It helped me come out of my shell. I really enjoyed being active and involved.”
She hopes to use her scholarship from last year toward a degree at Brigham Young University.
The pageant is free to the public and is so well attended there is standing room only. Plan to attend and arrive early.
“It has become a very positive experience for the girls:” Horlacher said. “It’s not all about the crown and winning … they learn so many things about themselves and grow to set goals and accomplish those goals. [The pageant] helps them with a lot of life lessons.”
Workshops for the pageant contestants began in January and will continue to be held each Saturday until the pageant takes place. The pageant’s blogspot, self-proclaiming to be “The Cutest Blog on the Block,” provides more information, schedules for the contestants, photos and a running account of things the girls are engaged in as they seek the crown..
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Copyright 2012 St. George News.
While I think that pageants are great for young women to earn scholarship money for college, I don’t agree with the city of Ivins putting any money toward those scholarships. Ivins city is in a lot of debt for a small city and I don’t find it fair to the residents. It must be hard for the citizens to be forced to pay a couple thousand dollars to have curb and sidewalk put by their homes and then see that money given away to a young woman with a nice smile.
as a resident of Ivins (new mind you, had no idea the city was that much in debt. are there figures available?) I don’t mind supporting such an endeavor, I don’t have kids and pay taxes for their education so this doesn’t seem all that different. My only question is where is the gender parity? How do young men become eligible for a similar scholarship? It has often been my concern that you have “scholarship pageants” that are pretty much a dog and pony show for the pretty. Just doesn’t seem equitable, but I’m not terribly surprised by it. We have people doing their darndest to strip people of rights and keep others from attaining equality. I guess this shouldn’t be much different.
Great story, Dayna. Thank you on behalf of the pageant.
Replying to the first 2 comments posted, I think it is great that the city pulled this money together to give these girls encouragment to further their education by going to college. They more than earn the city’s money back by the amount of volunteer hours they put in by being in the royalty. In fact all 16 of those girls had to do a minimum of 10 hours of community service to even compete. That benefited a lot of people in your community.
it’s not about the prettiest girl winning anymore either, it’s focused more on their talents, community service and most importantly their interview both with the judges and on stage which is a very frightening experience that requires knowledge on not only local events but also national events. It makes them think on their feet and use both their mind and their communication skills.
But more than money (which seems to be everyone’s focus these days) it’s about taking pride in your city. The 22 year tradition of passing the “Princess Cape” from one Princess to another is an awesome thing that needs to be protected. These girls don’t want to be just a pretty face, they want to show respect and pride for the city they live in, make memories in, make lifelong friends in and serve in. They want to be part of what’s going on in the community and serve that community both by volunteering at many events (some of which require jeans and a tee shirt) for an entire year and they want to invoke pride in others for what they have in this peaceful, beautiful place.
As with anything they also have to have someone that is willing to head up this event, yearly. It is a huge undertaking that involves countless hours that are ALL volunteer, so that these young women can learn the importance of being and acting like a lady, cultivate and share their talents and have a platform to share their views and contribute to society.
I invite any young man that wants to partake to come and join us. Just as so many girls are allowed on a football team, boys are allowed to be in a scholarship pageant. So come on boys let’s start a new tradition, Mr. Ivin’s. I will volunteer to be the director.