ARKANSAS PAGEANTS on hold until 2021.
Events moved to 2021; last year’s winners keep their crowns
Citing safety concerns connected to the covid-19 pandemic, the Miss Arkansas board of directors announced Friday that it is postponing the 2020 state pageant to 2021.
The 2020 pageant, originally scheduled for June 1320, has been moved to June 13-19, 2021.
The announcement was made in the wake of the Miss America Organization’s decision not to hold a national competition in 2020.
“Sadly, because of the continued impact of covid-19 in Arkansas, we are not confident that the effects of the pandemic will have passed by mid-June,” Jessie Bennett, executive director of the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Organization, said in an online letter to “Miss Arkansas Friends and Family.”
“As such, in the abundance of caution, we have decided to postpone the scheduled Miss Arkansas and Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen Competition dates.”
Candidates for both crowns can retain their local titles and compete in June 2021 for the state titles.
Darynne Dahlem, Miss Arkansas 2019, and Sarah Cate Lay, Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen 2019, “will continue their service to our state until our new state titleholders are crowned,” according to a news release.
Meanwhile, the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation will award a $1,000 scholarship to all of the 2020 candidates and a $500 scholarship to all the 2020 ”Outstanding Teens.”
“Rather than let these funds sit idle, we wanted to go ahead and award scholarships to the young women so they can be put to immediate use,” said Susie Morgan, president of the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Foundation.
The Miss America Organization announced Friday that its competition, previously scheduled to be held in December, will not be held this year and will resume next year, which will be its 100th anniversary.
“As we all know, this moment in our history is one that will change the course of many programs, businesses, and institutions, and the Miss America Organization is not alone in navigating these challenges,” board Chairwoman Shantel
Krebs said in a news release. “At this time, as an organization, our greatest concern is to make sure the thousands of people who are involved in or volunteer for our program are safe.
“This coming year will be our 100th anniversary for this iconic American institution, and we want to make sure that we take the time to ensure our annual broadcast and the surrounding experiences reflect our time-honored tradition.”
The most recent Miss America, Camille Schrier of Virginia, was crowned in December at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. She will continue to serve in her role as Miss America until a successor is crowned in 2021.
A site for the 2020 pageant had not yet been announced. Its longtime home had been Atlantic City, N.J., aside from a brief detour to Las Vegas.