JACKSON, Tenn. — That’s right, the Miss Volunteer America Pageant is back and Wednesday night they’re kicking off the four night competition.
Lights, cameras, action! It’s the return of the annual Miss Volunteer America Pageant to the Carl Perkins Civic Center in downtown Jackson. This year’s competition sees 50 contestants vying for the crown. On night one, each of the 50 contestants, representing their home state, will compete in a preliminary competition.
“One group will compete in fitness and wellness, one group will compete in talent, and then one group will compete in the evening gown competition tonight,” said Scott Hilburn, chief administrative officer.
The three groups will then rotate each night until all fifty contestants have competed in the three categories. The judging criteria is composed of four categories total the three aforementioned and an interview they conduct with the judges before the nightly competition began.
“I mean night one, it’s a really big night for these girls. They’ve worked so hard for so many months for this months for this moment, so it’s a lot of nerves. But, backstage honestly, backstage when I was talking to those girls there’s really just a lot of excitement and a lot of gratitude to have the opportunity that so many other women wanted to have,” said Alexa Knutzen, former Miss Volunteer America title holder.
After three nights of preliminary competition, on Saturday, the contestants will be narrowed down from 50, to 16, then 12, then 8, and finally a top 5. From the top 5, a winner will be crowned.
Thursday night’s competition will resume at 7 p.m.
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