Miss Tennessee, Grace Burgess, left, and Miss District of Columbia, Cierra Jackson, right, won the Talent and Style & Fitness portions of the first night of Miss America Preliminaries, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, in Atlantic City.
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In addition to Miss Georgia Patricia Ford, who is representing the state at the national competition, other Miss America contestants with Georgia connections are Miss District of Columbia Cierra Jackson and Miss New York Camille Sims.
The 2017 Miss America pageant kicked off in Atlantic City Monday night with the talent and swimsuit competitions.
Miss Missouri, Erin O’ Flaherty, will compete for the Miss America crown this weekend as the first openly lesbian contestant. “It’s such an honor to be able to walk on that stage in the first place”, Burgess, 22, said of her win, which earned her a $2,000 scholarship.
Miss America contestants, including Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis, change clothes as many as four times a day while the pageant is underway.
“From the Mile High state, home of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, I’m here to keep the winning streak going!” said Miss Colorado Shannon Patilla.
“Whether it’s baked, mashed or fried, I’m one hot potato!” boasted Miss Idaho, Kylee Solberg.
Miss Rhode Island stood out with a Bollywood-inspired dance, where she wore a face mask.
Supporting the military, helping children and seniors figured prominently in the onstage interviews some of the contestants gave.
“One of us has already accomplished that dream and now three of us are working to accomplish that same dream”, she said.
Musto, Miss Massachusetts, has a pageant platform that calls for placing pianos in schools and community centers that don’t have one, in order to help foster a communal love of music.
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Miss Michigan, Arianna Quan, spoke about immigration and helping people show pride in their heritage. The Beijing-born Quan said she hopes to “provide tools to Americans to celebrate their backgrounds”.
