it’s not every day that one gets asked to judge a beauty pageant, so when i received this request from one of my low country folk, i was ecstatic! me? really? i was definitely “in” mentally, but could i physically do it…i mean, i work every other saturday & with the way my luck was with other event invites, chances were it fell on the already scheduled work day. to my delight, i was going to be off, so i agreed to be a judge! wait…i had just agreed to be a judge. omg, i have no idea how to do this & a beauty pageant of all things. oh, what the heck…i’ll try anything once, right?! plus, i love any reason to get out of town…make plans…have something to look forward to. & now, boy, did i?!
i didn’t think much of it until the time started to get closer & closer. i was getting nervous. what do i wear? will the other judges be nice? what in the world am i gonna do with this hair? you know, the normal questions that run through your head…or maybe it was just my usual neurotic self.
the day finally came (last saturday). woke up at normal time (like we would for school & work) hot rollers here…liquid eyeliner there & headed out. there was a 2 hour drive ahead of me, & i was actually on time…yea, that pretty much never happens. i was about to judge my first beauty pageant, the miss shrimp festival in yemassee, sc. yea, buddy.
(the hubs had planned a day of exploring, which he did indeed do, after dropping me off at my location.)
after meeting the two ladies that i would share responsibilities with; a seasoned georgia local beauty pageant & 4 time accredited miss america judge from savannah, ga & the very first miss shrimp festival, 18 years prior, from aiken, sc, we jumped right on it. first on the agenda…most photogenic. this was the easy part. i just really went with my gut. the first photo that really caught my eye of the child &/or young lady. we went with unanimous…done. bring on the frilly dresses, please.
the first couple of hours would be the itty bitties…0-34 months, split up into 3 age groups. (so needless to say, half the competition couldn’t even walk yet) oh my goodness, they were so stinking cute. some were super smiley…blowing kisses & waving, some were not too sure if they wanted to be there, & 1 or 2 (by crowning time) were…well, asleep!
i thought at first that this judging thing would be easy enough. although, it’s kind of hard to look at several little kiddies & determine who is “more beautiful.” i had other criteria (thank goodness) to go by which really came in handy. other than beauty, there were 3 other catergories…poise, personality, & overall; judging scale of 1-10. i never went below 8.3 on any of the 4…& the only reason i went that low was when it got to the older girls & everyone was pretty much neck & neck. i had to do my own math, too. did i mention that? aye yi yi…this girl was breaking out the fingers more than a couple times on that one!after a lunch break we viewed the 4-10 year old girls…broken up into age groups. this was much harder than the teenies. & this is where more of the “glitz” would come into play. seriously, between the makeup & hair, i was looking to make friends just for the tips on glamour. i mean, here i am, curls fleeting fast from lack of hair spray watching an 8 year old with hair that doesn’t move. very interesting, to say the least. the most refreshing aspect though came after the judging of this group; as i waited outside during yet one more break before the preteens to miss judging. these little girls who i had just seen all gussied up were in regular play clothes (hair & makeup still intact, mind you) chasing each other, laughing, & being, well, children! it was adorable.
6 o’clock rolled around & the end was near. last group…11-13, 14-16, 17-21. the plus to this judging would be two outfits. evening wear, like all the others, with a prelude of casual wear. & to me, because the competition was really getting close, i was glad to have a buffer like the fun/sporty/casual wear. it helped show the personality of the girls, instead of just the stoic transe-like walks & batting of lashes. it was just more natural. but what do i know? i’ve never done this before.
the judging…tougher. much, much tougher. these older gals were fierce! the crowning much more intense. & you could see instantly as the once glued on smiles went to looks of disappointment with this older group. i felt like a jerkface, but i was there to judge. & there were the 3 of us. some of my higher scoring girls didn’t place & a few even surprised me. which just goes to show that it was super close…it had to be. lots of beautiful girls in the south, ya’ll!!
when all was said & done, the hubs (who ventured every island, ruins, & wooded area in a 20 mile radius) & i headed back to our lovely home. what the hey, it’s a 2 hour drive & well worth waking up in your own bed on a sunday morning.
it was a long day, but pretty neat & different for me. i was entertained, got to see some old faces, meet new ones, & experience a little of the beauty pageant world. & i know that the crowned winners represented their shrimp festival well. & you know what? should they ask me to do it again next year, i totally will. (i'm an experienced judge now!)
p.s. i kept looking for the whole ‘toddlers & tiaras’ tantrum thing, but i never saw it; there were only a couple little ones that cried a little bit or seemed scared (to be expected). then again, i wasn’t behind the scenes…with a video camera…or a nifty edit button. ha!
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