By Mark Ambrogi
Miss Fall Festival Outstanding Teen director Louanne Giralte has never been in a pageant herself.
“I was a flight attendant for 17 years, so I dealt with a lot of different personalities,” she said. “I have a dance background. I’ve learned from being around other pageants and also judging other pageants. You just learn more as you go along.”
The 2018 Miss Fall Festival Outstanding Teen competition will be held at 3 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Whitestown Municipal Complex’s Town Hall. Admission is free. The winner advances to the 2018 Miss Indiana Outstanding Teen competition at the Zionsville Performing Arts Center in June 2018. The competition is for Boone County residents between the ages of 13 and 17. High school seniors are not eligible.
This is the second year the pageant will be held at Whitestown’s Town Hall. It was held for two years at Zionsville’s Town Hall.
“We moved it to have a better venue with better sound and air conditioning,” Giralte said of the move indoors in 2014. “It was difficult for the girls to change. It’s a better all-around venue than at the park. One year when we were doing the interview, there were gnats flying around, and the poor girls were trying to answer questions and gnats stuck to their lip gloss. Sometimes it was just too hot.”
Giralte became involved through the Lions Club when the pageant was first introduced.
“The first year I judged and the second year I co-directed it with (former Zionsville Town Council member) Jeff Papa,” Giralte said. “I’ve been the director for five years.”
The categories are individual private interview, lifestyle and fitness and evening gown with on-stage questions and talent.
The winner receives a $500 scholarship from the ZIonsville Lions Club, an underarm hair removal package from Indy Laser (valued at $750), a portrait/head shot session from Roger Manning (valued at $300), the official crown and sash donated by Steve and Alice Tarr (valued at $200) and a $50 gift card, which also includes a discounted girls day out from Closet Runway Boutique in Zionsville. Zionsville Flower Company makes a partial donation for the flowers for the contestants.
Andi Hagen, the reigning 2017 Fall Festival winner, will crown the pageant winner.
Applications for the pageant will be accepted until Sept. 6. Applicants can email Giralte at [email protected].
