Forty-three young women from across the state competing for the title of Miss Mississippi 2006 arrive today for a week of pageant-related activities before one of them is crowned Saturday night.

The theme for this year is &#8220Somewhere…,” a combination of the original &#8220Wizard of Oz,” and Broadway musicals &#8220The Wiz” and &#8220Wicked.”

This year’s pageant activities include the annual Miss Mississippi parade on Monday, autograph parties with the contestants throughout the week, three nights of preliminary competitions and a final round of competition on Saturday, at the end of which Miss Mississippi 2005 Kristian Dambrino will crown the new Miss Mississippi. All competitions will be at the Vicksburg Convention Center, and the final night will be televised live on WLBT-TV3.

For the second year, fans will be able to text message votes for their favorite contestants during a CellularSouth contest. The contestant who receives the most votes will win a $2,500 viewer’s choice scholarship.

Pageant attendees, including non-Cellular South customers and any wireless users who do not subscribe to text messaging, can cast text message votes on site during the pageant. Cellular South wireless phones will be available in the lobby of the Vicksburg Convention Center each evening of the competition until voting closes at 9 p.m. For a list of the contestants’ assigned numbers, visit www.missmississippipageant.com or any Cellular South retail location. Last year’s contest drew 1.3 million text message votes.

The Miss Mississippi Pageant, in its 71st year and 48th in Vicksburg, is a preliminary to the Miss America Pageant, which will be in Los Angeles Sept. 5-13.

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