When the Miss Mississippi Pageant and Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen Pageant are held in Vicksburg, the city benefits financially. Contestants’ family and friends come to cheer them on, but many locals might not realize that when theses contestants arrive for a weekend of orientation long before the pageant, they also provide the community an increase in revenue.

This past weekend, orientations were held for the two pageants, and David Blackledge, the Executive Director and Chairman of the Board for the Miss Mississippi Pageant, said Vicksburg benefitted.

“This has an economic impact,” Blackledge said.

“We have 92 prince and princesses with 30 contestants for the Miss Mississippi Pageant, 24 prince and princesses with 23 contestants for the Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen Pageant, more than 35 local pageant directors and parents came in during the orientation,” Blackledge said.

Registration for the Miss Mississippi orientation began at 5:45 p.m. Friday at the Vicksburg Hinds Community College campus.

“The purpose of orientation is to get the contestants prepared for the pageant,” Blackledge said.

“Friday the contestant’s paper work is taken in and then we have the Miss Mississippi lottery,” he said.

The lottery, which is a system also used at the Miss America Pageant, allows contestants to draw a number, and they sequentially choose which preliminary grouping they would like to compete.

Preliminary groupings are the subdivided groups in which contestants compete.

Saturday, the Miss Mississippi contestants had a long day of rehearsals.

“We started at 8:30 a.m. at the YMCA and rehearsed until 4:30 p.m. The choreographer was there, and she went through all of the dances that will be performed during the pageant,” said Blackledge.

“The dance rehearsals were so much fun,” said Miss Delta State Katie Busby.

Busby is a junior nursing major from Vicksburg and is the only local contestant in the Miss Mississippi Pageant.

The final day of orientation began at 8 a.m. Sunday and included information on rules and guidelines, judging, scholarship opportunities and a question and answer segment.

“We want the contestants to be informed and feel prepared for when they come in this summer,” said Blackledge.

Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen Pageant kicked off their orientation Saturday.

Jaynie Fedell, the executive producer for the teen pageant, said orientation included information on what to expect during the week of the pageant, what to wear, dance rehearsals and the lottery.

Saturday night at the Vicksburg HCC campus auditorium, a crowning was held for each of the Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen contestant’s princesses.

Three local teens will be competing in the pageant this summer.

“My sister is super excited about being my princess,” said Miss Vicksburg’s Outstanding Teen Tori Ross.

Along with Tori, two other Vicksburg teens will be competing, Miss Pearl River Valley’s Outstanding Teen Addison Mathis and Miss Heart of Dixie’s Outstanding Teen Emily Tingle, and all three high school juniors said they have enjoyed meeting other contestants.

“It’s been overwhelming and exciting,” said Addison, and she added that she has had fun making new friends and enjoys the idea of starting up new relationships with them.

Emily admitted that there had been a lot of material covered during orientation.

“It’s been a lot of information, but I feel prepared and ready,” said Emily.

The Miss Mississippi Outstanding Teen pageant is scheduled from June 4 through 6 beginning at 8 p.m. each night at the Vicksburg Auditorium. Tickets are $25 for Thursday and Friday night preliminaries and $40 for Saturday night’s final competition and crowning, or $75 for all three nights. Student pricing and seating is being negotiated for the teen pageant, said Blackledge.

The Miss Mississippi Pageant is scheduled from June 24 through 27 beginning each night at 8 p.m. at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Tickets are $30 for Wednesday and Thursday night preliminaries, $40 for Friday and $50 for Saturday night’s final competition and crowning, or $125 for all four nights.

For more information or tickets, call 601-638-6746.