Photo credit: Janet Donovan
Get out your “Loubies.” We’re giving you plenty of time to gear up for the annual Miss America “Show Us Your Shoes” Parade, a celebration leading into the final night of the 2016 Miss America Competition that stretches over two miles along the Atlantic City Boardwalk from New Jersey Avenue to Albany Ave. with an expected crowd of more than 100,000 in attendance. This year, the parade will take place on Saturday, September 12th at 5pm.
While you may think this is putting the horse before the cart, we call it putting one step in front of the other in case you want to practice the tradition and join in on the boardwalk with your own creations. Former contestants have displayed everything from Swarovski crystal-covered pumps to diving flippers and military boots, to enhanced bed-time slippers. It’s our favorite moment because the contestants come together in a non-competitive atmosphere to celebrate the spirit of their home state through costumes and one-of-a-kind wearable art footwear.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Miss America.org
Last year Jessica Burson, Miss New Mexico, told Hollywood on the Potomac: “I’m a farm girl. I was raised in a really male dominated culture so I was wearing cowboy boots and riding horses and driving tractors and then decided I was done with that chapter of my life. I still have passion for it but am ready to take it to a different stage – that passion. I then bought my first set of heels and have been chasing after the dream of becoming Miss America since then.”
In November of last year we caught up with ‘The two Miss Americas’ at a luncheon at Cafe Milano in Washington, DC in honor of Kira Kazantsev and Nina Davuluri – Miss America 2015 and 2014 respectively – where the twosome exchanged experiences like you might after summer camp and Hollywood on the Potomac caught it on video. (see below). This time, it was not about shoes, but rather the meaning of winning.
Nina and Kira
“I want to tell everyone a little bit about the Miss America Organization,” said Kira Kazantsev. “If you maybe didn’t know before, we operate on what we call ‘the four points of the crown.’ Two of those points are style and success. Not just on how we present ourselves on the outside but your professionalism, your attitude, your positivity or confidence. Those are all things that I’ve gotten from the Miss America Organization. Success, Nina is a perfect example of success. She’s the product of the Miss America Organization and the end result of something that has been with her since teenage years. She is now incredibly successful and travels the world; she’s going to India soon and is just one of the many successful women that have come through the Miss America Organization. The networking opportunities, the business opportunities, just being in this room today; I would not be here if it were not for the Miss America Organization. I would not have ever met any of you if it weren’t for the Miss America Organization, so I have that to be thankful for.”
Peter O’Toole and Josh Randle
“The other two points of the crown are scholarship and service. This is the part of the crown that’s a little heavier. So if you ever see my crown a little lopsided, that’s why. Scholarship is very, very important, if not the only main important thing to the Miss America Organization. When the crown was placed on my head, I won $50,000 for continuing my education. That’s not including all of the other scholarship money that was awarded to me through my years as the local contestant, a state contestant. You don’t pay an entry fee to join the Miss America Organization; they pay you, I guess you could say. Every single woman walks away with scholarship opportunity. It is the biggest donor, or it makes available $45,000,000 a year for scholarship opportunity for woman. It’s the biggest one in the world. I think a lot of people sometimes don’t realize that. That’s a huge claim to fame for us. That’s a huge part of why we do what we do,” she added appreciatively.
Nina and Kira
The Reunion:
