One of the 47 contestants checking in this morning at the Vicksburg Convention Center will be the 50th Miss Mississippi crowned in Vicksburg.

Of the 49 Miss Mississippis who were crowned in Vicksburg, 35 to 40 are expected to attend the 50th crowning, including three of the four Miss Americas, said Dr. Briggs Hopson, chairman of the Miss Mississippi Board of Trustees.

Miss America 1959 Mary Ann Mobley, Miss America 1960 Lynda Lee Mead and Miss America 1986 Susan Akin will all return to Vicksburg. Miss America 1980 Cheryl Prewitt is not expected to return.

With four Miss Americas, Mississippi leads much of the nation, falling behind California, Ohio, Oklahoma, all with 6, and Illinois and Pennsylvania with 5. Michigan has also crowned four Miss Americas.

&#8220I’m pleased and excited that the ones who are coming back are coming. I think they all wanted to come back,” Hopson said, citing scheduling conflicts as the main reason former crown-holders were unable to return.

&#8220We’ve sold more tickets for the whole week already than we have for the past couple of years,” Hopson said. &#8220We expect a much larger crowd.”

The 47 Miss Mississippi hopefuls outnumber last year’s 43. David Blackledge, executive director of the Miss Mississippi Corporation, says that interest in the pageant has been once again piqued.

&#8220Interest in the pageant has grown at the local level – people want to see these young women develop themselves,” he said. Several Mississippi community colleges have also renewed their interest in the pageant.

Weeklong events include three nights of preliminary competition, autograph parties, a parade and a special &#8220Queen’s Ball” to honor the contestants and the former queens.

This week is the culmination of months of preening, practicing and planning for contestants and event organizers.

&#8220It will be a hectic week, but I’m extremely excited,” said Hopson. &#8220Very few communities have hosted a pageant for 50 years, so I’m excited for Vicksburg.”

&#8220It’s a lot harder than people imagine,” said Miss Vicksburg Telia Brewer, enumerating the weekly preparations she undertook to prepare for the pageant.

Contestants, will spend the week in the All Saints’ Episcopal School dormitories.

The Miss Mississippi Pageant feeds into the Miss America Pageant, which has long been touted as the nation’s premier scholarship provider for young women.

This year, $663,942 in scholarships has been offered, down from past years. Last year, $725,000 cash and in-kind scholarships were offered, down from 2005’s $1.3 million total.

The Miss America Pageant, together with its state and local affiliates, gave more than $45 million in scholarships.

Miss Mississippi 2007 will be crowned on Saturday at the Vicksburg Convention Center during a live telecast. She will represent Mississippi in the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas in January.