By: Cheryl Thurston
As you may already know, the Annual Dublin Peanut Festival, which was scheduled for September 19, 2020, has been canceled due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 virus. This year there will be no parade, no car show, no crowded gathering to celebrate the benefits of the peanut in our local community, as we seek to resolve this global pandemic.
However, there is a sunny spot in our cloudy sky. The Annual Dublin Peanut Festival Scholarship Pageant is moving forward with plans to hold the Awards Pageant in a limited or virtual venue. The Pageant, which is scheduled for September 12, 2020, at 7:00 pm, is being arranged through coordinated effort to ensure minimal contact and interaction between contestants (and their accompanying assistants). This pageant inspires girls and young women to shine and be counted. It represents an aspect of normalcy that is lacking in our social interactions over the last several months. The governing committee of the Dublin Peanut Festival is first and foremost concerned for the health and safety of everyone in the community but is still looking for ways to be of service. With help from the community, the pageant will go on.
There are 5 age divisions for the annual pageant: Tiny Miss, Little Miss, Junior Miss, Teen Miss, and Miss Dublin Peanut Festival. There is an Ambassadorship title awarded to the reigning Queen.
As always, the pageant awards a scholarship of $1500.00 to the reigning Queen, (another reason to hold the pageant, even in a limited venue). This year’s pageant offers 2 new award categories, “Photogenic” and “People’s Choice“. The Photogenic Award will be based on a headshot photo, either 8×10 or 5×7. The winner will receive a trophy. The People’s Choice Award will go to the contestant who receives the most votes/signatures while collecting $1.00 from each voter/signatory. The winner will receive a tiara and a trophy. The application deadline for the pageant is August 1, 2020, and the entry fee is $85.00
But that’s not all. For those of you who collect a Dublin Peanut Festival T-shirt every year, there might be a bright spot in your cloud too. The Peanut Festival committee has a T-shirt design for 2020 but hasn’t printed the shirts yet. Why? They have no way to know if anyone is interested without holding the festival. They do have a Facebook page though. If you are interested in this year’s T-shirt simply go to the Facebook page and make your request known. https://www.facebook.com/
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