Siloam Springs Dogwood Festival

10 • 2021 Dogwood Festival One of the highlights of the Dogwood Festival is the annual pageant in which young girls and women compete to wear the coveted crown and sash. Young boys up to nine years of age have their own competition as well. It's a great community effort where proud parents and family friends come out to cheer on their favorite contestant. "This is my first year actually running the festival pageant and I am having so much fun," said Toni Lindsey who runs the Miss Dogwood competition in the fall, which is one of the 46 preliminaries that lead into to the Miss Arkansas competition. The Dogwood Festival Pageant, however, is not part of the Miss Arkansas competition. Winners do not go on to compete in another festival. It's a community event that is part of the fun-filled Dogwood Festival weekend. The festival pageant is designed for girls and young women from newborn up to 25 years of age, divided into nine different divisions. The boys compete in three different divisions that cover ages newborn to nine years old. "Division Winners will receive a crown and sash. They will also be asked to ride in the Siloam Springs Christmas Parade on the first Saturday in December," Lindsey said. "Division Alternates will receive certificates. Junior Miss, Teen Miss and Miss will also receive their entry fee paid to compete in the Miss Dogwood and Dogwood Outstanding Teen Pageants (if eligible) to be held in the Fall of 2021. These are official preliminaries to Miss Arkansas and Miss Arkansas Outstanding Teen." The applications themselves make a point of saying "This is NOT a Glitz Pageant!" They encourage every contestant to remain as natural as possible. If a girl or young woman chooses to wear makeup, the festival wants it to be understated and feature enhancing, not your traditional beauty contest cosmetic presentation. The attire worn during the competition should be participants' "Sunday Best" or an outfit that they would wear to a nice event. Their outfit should compliment their personality. No flashy, expensive dresses or outfits. Lindsey feels the festival pageant is a very positive thing for the participants. "Any time a young person can be on stage 2021 Annual Dogwood Festival Pageant showcases the best of Siloam Springs' next generation by Karen Rice

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