LEWISTON – For the parents and children gathered in a vacant store space at the Lewiston Mall on Saturday, the Sunburst New England preliminary beauty pageant was worth every bit of the basic $40 entry fee.
Girls between the ages of 6 and 10 wore their prettiest dresses, twirling and flashing well-practiced smiles, preparing to compete for a title that would send one to the pageant system state finals in New Hampshire this May.
Actually, everyone is invited to compete in the finals after attending a preliminary event. But winning the Pee Wee, Little Miss, Pre-Teen, Teen or Miss category at a preliminary meant a girl’s $250 entry fee for the “Beauty” contest would be paid by Sunburst.
Arianna Aaskov, 9, of Harrison, has been competing in the pageant series for three years. On Saturday, she twirled in her long white dress and fake fur coat before the competition began.
“You get to dress up, and I like dressing up and being a princess,” she said, explaining why she likes pageants.
“My kids having been doing this for nearly three years, and we love it,” said her mother, Robin Aaskov. “What little girl doesn’t want a chance to dress up?”
Parents and grandparents were gathered in corners of the empty store space. One mother had a curling iron and was working on her daughter’s hair.
The number of competitors was not daunting – only four girls had shown.
Sunburst New England Director Dan DeBlois said regional interest in the preliminary events has subsided in the four years since the pageant system began here. At first, he organized 28 preliminaries in the region annually. Now he puts on 20.
“I think the malls themselves are just not what they used to be,” he said, and while Sunburst advertises pageants in local newspapers, readership has been declining.
After DeBlois introduced himself and the judges over a portable P.A. system, the whole pageant took no more than 15 minutes.
The only 6-year-old in the crowd smiled brightly and fidgeted as she introduced herself, then was dubbed “Miss Pee Wee.”
The older girls, 8, 9 and 10, then took the floor. The most-seasoned competitor dominated the introductions with her lavender gown and a smooth, “Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I am 10-year-old Tara Casella from Lewiston, Maine.”
She would walk away with the titles of best personality, prettiest eyes, prettiest smile and most photogenic, as well as first runner-up.
But Brigette Elaine Lebel, 8, of Auburn, took the “Little Miss” title.
Her father, Roland Lebel, was thrilled. He said it was his idea to get Brigette into pageantry, but, “She always likes the glitter and glamour.”
She is disappointed when she loses a pageant, he said, but that’s a feeling she can’t avoid in life. And soon, she forgets all about it.
Tara Casella said she likes the pageants because she makes friends.
Her mother, Missy Casella, a paper carrier for the Sun Journal, said Tara has grown more confident and spunky while competing. Last year, she won the New England Centerfold title in the Sunburst series, and her picture is now in the pageant brochure.
The entry fees do add up, Casella admitted. The preliminary “Beauty” fee of $40 grows as parents pay for additional categories like “most photogenic,” “best attire” and “best personality,” each of which costs $10 to $15.
But like many beauty pageant hopefuls, Tara and her family will hold everything from car washes to bottle drives to help pay her way each year.
“We always find a way to get her to the tristate level,” Casella said proudly.
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