Princess candidates battle for points in pageant

It’s the middle of homecoming week, and the dress up days and activities are in full swing. Wednesday’s theme, “World Day”, had students dressing up as people from different countries and cultures around the world.  

Outfits ranging from all out red, white and blue, to Indian garbs, to simple colorful shirts roamed the hallways. Even though it was the third day of dressing up, people still participated by coming up with creative outfits.

A lot of people dressed up in red, white and blue to support their own country. McKensy Neal, ‘18, sported an American flag shirt, Captain America socks, and a bandana with an American flag on it.

“I wore this because I wanted to be comfortable and this was really comfortable,” Neal said. “I also wore it because I wanted to get points for the junior class. Although I dressed up for America, I really like the country of France, because it’s very beautiful there.”

Another student, Wesley Hinton, ’20, also displayed his love for America, wearing American socks bandana, and shirt.

“I dressed up today because I wanted to participate in homecoming and get points for my class,” Hinton said. “I chose this outfit because I already had a lot of American stuff at home so I didn’t have to go out and buy anything. But I really liked dressing up as hippies on Monday to go with the theme and our class’s decade the 70’s.”

Some people chose a different route to dress up as rather than than their home country. Hannah Nale wore an Indian sari for World Wednesday.

“I really wanted to stand out from everyone else because I knew a lot of people would be wearing American stuff,” Nale said. “The sari I’m wearing is my mother’s, she got it in India. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live in New Zealand because it’s so beautiful and is famous for different things.”

“The pageant was very interesting and exciting this year. I love that all the princesses got to be themselves. Most people don’t know them, and it’s fun to see other people get to know them better this way.” –Brooklynn Ainley

But some people didn’t feel like participating in Wednesday’s dress up day. Sophomore Anthony Diaz dressed up every day, but got confused on what to wear for World Wednesday, so he didn’t participate.

“I didn’t know what to dress up for this day,” Diaz said.  “I also had football so I didn’t want my outfit to be a hassle. I kind of regret my decision though as I saw many of my friends dressing up for it.”

The Princess Pageant is a tradition every year during homecoming week. In this event, princess nominees answer questions, mostly about the theme of homecoming, and receive points for their class. They also participate in difficult, and sometimes messy, activities and games.

Leadership student Brooklynn Ainley, ‘17, was in charge of the Princess Pageant, and helped put together all the activities.

“The pageant was very interesting and exciting this year,” Ainley said. “I love that all the princesses got to be themselves. Most people don’t know them, and it’s fun to see other people get to know them better this way.”

This year’s pageant brought lots of sticky faces and laughs as the princesses tried to excel in their given challenges.

The challenges included eating donuts off a string, a push-up challenge, wrapping a princess completely in toilet paper, finding an object in a mud pie, spelling “Eagles” in chocolate sauce with their nose, and jumping up and down to get ping pong balls out of a cup stuck to their back.

One of the freshman princesses participated in the ping pong challenge and the push up challenge. Kayla Vanderlinden discovered a clever way to get the ping pong balls out of her cup by completing a handstand, winning the challenge.

“It was really exciting to participate but also nerve wracking. I don’t like being in front of people, but it was still super fun with my friends. I feel like if I were with a bunch of strangers it wouldn’t have been as exciting.”

The challenges turn out to be a struggle for sophomore princess Megan Raynes, who was unsuccessful at getting the ping pong balls out of her cup.

“It was really uncomfortable when the other princesses were wrapping me up in the toilet paper in that challenge because my face got really hot,” Raynes said. “But it was so fun playing with the other sophomore princesses and answering questions with them. I’m excited to see everyone get dressed up and to see the floats.”

Raynes received lots of support from her friend Amanda Grimmius, ‘19, who cheered for her when she saw her up on the podium getting wrapped in toilet paper.

“I thought the pageant was really fun and really creative,” Grimmius said. “A lot of the things they had the princesses do you wouldn’t normally think of. My favorite challenge was the gummy worms in the pies. I really enjoy the whole thing because it let the class see who their princesses are and what their personalities are like.”

In the end the junior class received first place, with sophomores coming in second, and freshmen bringing up the end with third.

Thursday’s theme is Wildlife Thursday. Students are encouraged to dress up as their favorite animal. Students that dress up receive points for their class throughout the week leading up to homecoming.

For more about FC Turns Back Time, read Tuesday’s recap article.

For more top 5 articles read, Professional athletes put on show, encourage students.

FC Turns Back Time Day 3  photo recap.

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