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By MICHELLE LOVE | Staff Writer 

HELENA –  Families of all sizes gathered at Helena High School on Saturday afternoon to watch their daughters and granddaughters compete in the annual Little Miss Helena pageant.

The pageant was for grades kindergarten through fifth grade, and the pageant took place in the Helena High School auditorium.

“Pageants are a great way to help girls gain self confidence and step out of their comfort zone,” said the pageant’s coordinator Mallory Swinsick. “The girls also have a lot of fun dressing up with their friends and encouraging each other as they get ready to walk across the stage.”

There were a total of 83 contestants, and each girl made their individual walk across the stage smiling and waving to the audience.

The girls made their individual walks in their best pageant dresses while a panel of experienced judges scored them on presentation and their pageant answers to questions such as, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and “What magic power would you want to have?”

There were several girls who said they wanted to be a veterinarian, and several girls said they wanted the ability to freeze people like Elsa in Disney’s Frozen.

The pageant was divided up into three categories: the Tiny Miss Division which was for kindergarten through first grade; the Little Miss Division which was second and third grade; and the Junior Miss Division which was fourth and fifth grade.

The judges announced the top ten winners in each category, then after another presentation of each contestant the top five was announced. As the first place winners were announced, each winner couldn’t contain their excitement as they were presented with their own crown and sash.

The following are the winners of the individual categories.

• – Swayze Moreland for Tiny Miss
• – Lily Barr for Little Miss
• – Adilyn Hope for Junior Miss

Winners were also announced for the People’s Choice Award in each category.

• – Ari Gonzalez for Tiny Miss
• – Eden Nichols for Little Miss
• – Campbell Gibbs for Junior Miss

To see more photos from the Little Miss Helena Pageant, please visit our photo website at Shelbycountyphotos.com/events-and-happenings.