Community Corner

Miss Farmington: Not Your Typical Beauty Pageant

Being part of the event gives this judge a different perspective.

On Wednesday night, I served as a judge for the Miss Farmington pageant at the in downtown Farmington. If anybody tells you pageant judging is a piece of cake, have them come talk to me.

When the results were announced, I really had no idea Elise Newcomer would be our new Miss Farmington. All seven candidates impressed the heck out of me, and my score sheet was pretty tight.

As I walked to the afterglow event at , I spotted one of the unsuccessful contestants being consoled by a group of her friends. These events mean a lot to the girls who enter them, and they should. It takes hours of hard work to prepare; no one should do that without a full and committed heart.

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The feminist in me resists the idea of women being reduced to a set of numbers on a score card, but the more time I spend around our local pageant, the more I believe that's not at all what happens.

Miss Farmington, which is an independent and local event, combines four elements of competition designed to demonstrate how well-rounded a candidate is. And Wednesday night's event was a tough one to judge. From the poise they showed in just walking across the stage to their essays on the topic of bullying, all of the girls showed they had put their hearts and souls on the line.

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Which, of course, is why not winning can be such a big disappointment.

But it's also what makes Miss Farmington nothing like your typical "beauty" pageant. I'll admit, I could be biased — I really enjoyed being a small part of the Miss Farmington family. 

But consider something Jenny Fernandez, Miss Farmington 2010, shared as she prepared to give up her crown to the 2011 winner.

She said that when people asked her whether she won a beauty pageant, she said no. She won a "personality" pageant.

How cool is that?


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