Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1481514
28 UCW OCTOBER 12 - 18, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Dogwood Festival names 2022 Pageant winners by ASHLEY SHIRLEY e Fayetteville Dogwood Festival hosted its 24th Annual Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pag- eant Sept. 17 at Seabrook Auditorium. e longstanding community tradition celebrates the talent and accomplishments of young women and ladies across the Sandhills. is year, 26 contestants were grouped into five competition levels: Little Miss (5-7), Young Miss (8-10), Junior Miss (11-13), Teen Miss (14-17), and Miss Fayetteville (18-24). More than a mere "beauty pageant," the young ladies competing for Miss Fayetteville Dogwood are judged by rigorous criteria, which include both a private and on-stage interview for all contestants, Sunday Best for Young and Little Miss, Evening Gown for Miss, Teen Miss, and Junior Miss, and finally, Talent for the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood level. While putting their best dress forward is certainly part of the fun for the contestants, the Dogwood Festival makes their values clear as the interview portion is the most strongly weighted criterion at each competition level. All young ladies aged 5-24 are eligible to compete, provided they live in Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Moore, Robeson or Sampson county. Winners in the Miss and Teen Miss cat- egories each win a scholarship along with their titles, and winners in all other catego- ries will have an opportunity to represent the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival at various events throughout the year. Up & Coming Weekly spoke with Sarah- grace Snipes Mitchell, executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, about the organization's involvement with the pageant and its dedication to developing opportunities for young ladies of the region. "e Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant is a way for us to interact with a different population within the community," Mitchell explained. "We usually interact through music and art, but through this event, we're able to have a more personal and intimate relation- ship with our contestants, the winners, and their families." In a society focused on elevating women based on likes, clicks and views, the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant seeks to show the value of substance over superficiality. rough this pageant, the young women on stage get to compete based on their merit, personality and passions — building strong foundations for their futures. "e value of this pageant is in the experi- ence these young ladies get," said Mitchell. "When we look at female empowerment, young women need an opportunity to build confidence in who they are and who they can be." For 40 years, the Dogwood Festival name has been synonymous with unification and has come to exemplify the best of what Fayetteville and surrounding areas have to offer; as such, their standards for Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival are quite high. "Our pageant is looking for young women who are honest, have strong integrity, pa- tience, kindness, and the ability to be humble," shared Mitchell. Up & Coming Weekly spoke with this year's winners to learn a little more about the young women representing the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. Little Miss — Betty Leggett Elizabeth "Betty" Leggett is this year's Little Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival title win- ner. is is the Village Christian Academy Kindergartener's very first pageant. A born performer with a great imagination, Betty loves dancing, dressing up, and playing with her baby dolls. Betty also participates in cheer, ballet, and jazz dance. When she grows up, she'd like to use her talents to become a farmer or a teacher. ough she loves getting all dressed up and putting on makeup, Betty finds it challenging to sit still and not fidget, but admits it's worth it to win a crown. Young Miss — Emma Luchetta e winner of this year's Young Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is ten-year-old Emma Luchetta of Eastover Central Elemen- tary. Emma, a fifth grader this year, is new to pageantry, having participated in her first one back in February, where she was named Little Miss Cape Fear. Emma is a competitive gymnast on the Gold Team at Omega Gymnastics when not on stage. In addition to her extracurricular accomplishments, Emma is Vice-President of her school's BETA Club and Student-Athlete of the Year. Along with the Young Miss title at this year's pageant, Emma won Miss Congeniality and Best Interview in her category. Emma wants to be a Marine Biologist and hopes to own a cage-free animal rescue when she grows up. "I love how much fun you can have and that FEATURE Congratulations to the new festival royalty! Little Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival - Betty Leggett Young Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival - Emma Luchetta Junior Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival - McKala Sallie Teen Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival - Olivia Gray Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Festival - Janiya Pipkin THEDOGWOODFESTIVAL.COM