Page 17 - Mid Valley Times 8-20-20 E-edition

Thursday, August 20, 2020 | A17 | Mid Valley TiMes
The show goes on for Miss Dinuba Pageant
Tentative date of Sept. 19 set for 105th annual show, which may be virtual event
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
The Miss Dinuba Pageant has been an an- nual event for over 100 years, corresponding with Dinuba’s annual Raisin Day Festival ev- ery September. So when the Dinuba Chamber of Commerce announced earlier this month that this year’s Raisin Day Festival had been can- celled due to concerns over the current pan- demic, eight young la- dies from Dinuba were left wondering what would become of this year’s pageant.
“The girls felt short changed when they heard that,” said Pag- eant Committee Chair Mona Carrion.
Admittedly, af- ter hearing about the cancellation, Carrion thought there was a chance the same fate might befall this year’s pageant. But there was one thing standing in the way of a potential cancellation.
“I can’t turn my back on these girls,” said Car- rion. “I just felt that I could not not have the pageant. I would have it in my backyard for these girls if I had to.”
So in the spirit of the old show business adage,
the show must go on. This year’s 105th Miss Dinuba Pageant will move forward and eight contestants will vie for the coveted crown, along with a top prize of a $2,000 schol- arship. The pageant is tentatively set for Sept. 19 and this year’s pag- eant theme is “Unmask
the Night.”
Competing in this
year’s Miss Dinuba Pag- eant are Julianna Tuttle, Karen Ceballos, Maggie Dicochea, Marina Velas- quez, Natalie Gonzalez, Samantha Camaquin, Si- enna Gonzales and Tyra Adair.
But this year’s pag- eant, as one can imag- ine, will be much differ- ent than previous years. Typically contestants prepare for the pageant by dedicating their sum- mer to regular meet- ings with the pageant committee, where they would work on their tal- ents, platforms and pan- el judge interviews. By this time, under normal circumstances, contes- tants would have made appearances at the an- nual Dinuba Car Show as well as the city’s Fourth of July celebration, both of which were cancelled due to the pandemic.
The contestants cur- rently meet online via
Julianna Tuttle
Natalie Gonzalez
videoconference and, according to Carrion, the girls are excited about keeping Dinuba’s long- standing tradition going.
“Although we are uncertain as to what the pageant is going to look like or whether we will be able to hold a physical pageant, we will continue to serve and help these girls the best we can to make sure they are adequate- ly supported,” Carrion added.
Karen Ceballos
Samantha Camaquin
As for this year’s pageant, Carrion ad- mits the logistics are difficult under current pandemic guidelines.
“At this time, plans for holding an in-person event remain uncer- tain,” Carrion explained. “But, the eight contes- tants are certainly not holding back as they prepare for what might be a virtual or smaller attendance.”
Helping put togeth- er this year’s pageant
Maggie Dicochea
Sienna Gonzales
is Carrion’s daughter and 2012 Miss Dinuba Kristyn Carrion. What is normally a committee of five to six members has now been whittled down to just the mother and daughter combo, as former members Shir- ley Storemont and Greg Olson will not be partici- pating this year due to their age vulnerability.
And with the likeli- hood of no ticket sales this year, the commit- tee is looking to do other
Marina Velasquez
Tyra Adair
fundraisers to help pro- vide for $3,400 worth of scholarship prizes as well as pageant expens- es. They are hoping the community comes to- gether to help support this year’s event. Those wanting to help support this year’s pageant can make monetary dona- tions by contacting San- dy Sills at the Dinuba Chamber of Commerce (559) 591-2707 or by calling Mona Carrion at (559) 643-5400.
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