More than two dozen contestants vied for Benedum Festival royalty titles at pageants held June 20 and 21 at Benedum Civic Center.
At the June 20 Children’s Pageant, Chloe McDonald was named baby queen (age 1-2), Blaike Hepner was named little queen (age 4-6) and Jalyn Smith was named miss queen (age 7-9).
At the June 21 pageant, Miss Pre-Teen Gracie Marsh (age 10-12), Miss Teen Queen Audra Knotts (age 13-15) and Queen Morgan Smith (age 16-21) were crowned.
Wearing crowns and sashes, all queens will serve as royalty at this weekend’s Benedum Festival at Bridgeport City Park. See festival details here.
A 17-year-old from St. Albans, Smith will do a nice job serving as festival ambassador, said Kristin Wilson, pageant director. As was proven during the pageant, Smith is very personable and converses with ease; an important role of the festival queen. She is also very conscientious about the purpose of the festival, Wilson said.
“She was very anxious to learn about Michael Benedum,” Wilson said. “This pageant is to honor him so I wanted a girl who could do that. This is a job and I know Morgan is going to take it that way. She is very eager to participate.”
Thursday night, Smith and Teen Queen Audra Knotts addressed attendees of the annual Benedum Fellows Banquet, delivering inspiring words of the Benedum.
In January of 2016, Smith will represent the festival at the West Virginia Association of Fairs & Festivals Pageant in Charleston.
Wilson said the pageant is a confidence builder and introduces girls to potential new friends. Particularly for older contestants, the pageant is a steppingstone to bigger events as girls learn what judges are looking for with regard to poise and personality, she said.
Several past queens, including the pageant’s first Preteen Queen Kaitlin Gates, have gone on to win notable titles. Gates was Miss West Virginia 2013, representing our state in the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas.
Editor's Note: Pictured is Wilson with 2015 Benedum Festival royalty.
Someone please tell me why in the world does a Bridgeport Festival pick a queen from St. Albans. Common Bridgeport that is pathetic. Who decided this? They should be fired. Wheres Donald Trump?
Posted by Tim Casten Jul. 11, 2015 at 12:43 PM EST
Someone please tell me why in the world does a Bridgeport Festival pick a queen from St. Albans. Common Bridgeport that is pathetic. Who decided this? They should be fired. Wheres Donald Trump?
Posted by Tim Casten
Jul. 11, 2015 at 12:43 PM EST
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