It’s that time of year when Fresno becomes more beautiful.
The 46 women competing in the 2017 Miss California arrived at City Hall today (June 23), starting eight days of events leading up the final on Saturday, July 1 at the Saroyan Theatre.
It is the 28th straight year Fresno has hosted the competition. The pageant’s CEO, Patricia Murray, is excited to be here.
“We don’t want to visit Fresno every year. We want to be from Fresno. We want Fresno to be our home. That is the direction we are going. We want people to feel that this is our program, that Miss California belongs to Fresno,” Murray told an audience inside city council chambers.
And what’s the deal with those hats? We asked reigning Miss California Jessa Carmack.
“This year for our competition we have the theme of ‘It’s a Glamourous Life.’ We wanted to create a new tradition this year. For the arrival ceremony, all of our contestants are wearing big Kentucky Derby-style hats,” Carmack, of Santa Clara, says. “Mine is nice, big and red and says Miss California on the back.”
The teens also have their pageant this week. Jenna Tower is the current champion, sporting a nose stud and tattoo. “I do have one (tattoo) actually in honor of my platform, the ASPCA. It was actually a birthday present from my mom. If I figured if it was going to be permanent on my body, it should be something I love, which is animals. And I know I’ll love them forever,” Tower of Garden Grove says.
There’s the beauty and the talent, but Miss California says winning opened up doors to her future.
“I had this huge network throughout the year. I’ve done so many different events. I’ve traveled over 75,000 miles, done 250 appearances,” Carmack says. “I’m now looking for my next job. I’ve accepted an offer with a marketing firm in San Francisco. (Miss California) opens up so many doors for my career and I’m so thankful for that.”
Pageant organizers say the event brings in a quarter-of-a-million dollars to economy. The winner competes in Atlantic City for Miss America.
The actual competition preliminary rounds start Tuesday night. The contestants have many different events planned throughout the week, including stops at the Fresno Grizzlies baseball game and various hospitals in the area.
For more information, visit the Miss California website.
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This story was not subject to the approval of Granville Homes.
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Fabulous story.. loved seeing the amazing women and seeing the beautiful hats and the way they embrace our City as home.