The District of Columbia has a long-standing record of 24 places in Miss USA. The Miss District of Columbia competition is the contest that selects the representative of the District of Columbia in the Miss America contest. Two years ago, the Miss America Organization gave the responsibility to an individual to build an entire stage in his one-bedroom apartment in Dupont Circle, complete with glitter, stairs, and Doric columns. Kibler took on the challenge to save Miss DC.
On Friday afternoon at UDC, some of the contestants were waiting to learn and rehearse their big dance number (yes, America by Neil Diamond), which would open the competition the next night. A week earlier, Kibler had taken Polaroid photos of the girls in swimsuits. The Miss America rules state that a girl cannot change her choice of swimsuit after wearing the Polaroid. Kibler extended the Polaroids on a table and preferred to keep his analysis of what they reveal unofficial.
Evans, an employee of the Department of Justice, postponed her admission to Georgetown Law School to compete in Miss DC. She had a reputation in beauty pageants: she had been a finalist in the Miss Texas competition for several years. At Miss DC, Evans knew that her chances at the pageant were shrinking with age, and it didn't help that Texas had never crowned a black woman. He relocated his ambitions to the District, to comply with the six-month residency rule.
This type of interpolation is nothing new in beauty contests. However, after the pageant, Evans and Miss DC had a bit of a tense relationship. For months, he says, he didn't hear from her and didn't schedule any appearances for her. She was busy programming her own thing. A week later, the 20 girls were behind the scenes, getting ready with a flurry of breast bandages.
Some had experience in competitions and were quiet while others rebounded with a happy glow of sheer terror. One contestant seemed completely bored while another rested in the green room next to the remains of a giant delicatessen tray without worrying. It was Meghann Dotson, a 20-year-old student from Georgetown who had participated in the Miss Oklahoma pageant twice. The show began and members of the audience began to shout their loyalty as the contestants walked through the aisles and Neil Diamond sounded loudly through the sound system. Kellye Cash, Miss America 1987 hosted the contest periodically singing melodies from gospel shows and hymns during set changes.
The results were read and the Miss America song was played. The US online application asked for my name, address and eye and hair color offering gray as a hair option. Just a few hours after filling out the form, Laurett called me and enthusiastically welcomed me to the competition. Laurett opened her door and saw me in her driveway; I suddenly knew what it must be like to weigh 300 pounds and show up for a blind date that wasn't prepared for. His eyes widened and he gasped a little. Then playfully he tried to cover up his reaction with a smile while figuring out how to fake an appendix attack during dinner.
Laurett explained that I should powder my lips so that they were invisible and then draw a whole new set of lips outside my natural lip line. In conclusion, there are usually 20 contestants competing in a Washington DC pageant for Miss USA or Miss America titles. The structure is similar to that of other beauty pageants with participants competing to win state competitions before moving on to national ones in September which are televised on PAX channel.
