Melissa Muirheid, who had run the fair pageant for 16 years, took steps to keep the tradition alive by hosting a Miss Macon County pageant in conjunction with the Decatur Celebration. From that experience, the Illinois Festival Pageant was born. "I opened it to the state so anyone could come and participate," Muirheid said.
"It's just something I did on my own." The next group of royalty will be crowned Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Decatur Club.
The event starts at 3 p.m., with admission $10 at the door.
Candidates come from all over the state, though most come from Central and Southern Illinois. Categories include Queen, ages 19-23, with 11 contestants; Teen, 16-18, with seven contestants; Junior Miss, 13-15, with 12 contestants; and Pre-Teen, 1012, with 14 contestants. The pageant, Muirheid said, is not based on beauty.
It's volunteer service. Contestants have to give back to their community in some way, whether that's reading to children, visiting nursing homes, cleaning up trash, serving at a place like Good Samaritan Inn, or some other service activity. Scoring is based on a possible 100 points, with the personal interview worth 35 points, introduction on stage, 15 points, evening gown, 15 points, pop question on stage 20 points, and overall stage presence, 15 points.
"We just want a real girl, a title holder who wants to go out and loves to volunteer," Muirheid said. Besides the winners in each division, awards include first and second runner-up, the Congeniality Award, voted on by the contestants, the Fashion Award for the evening gown, chosen by the judges, the audience-voted People's Choice award, and a cash prize in each division for the contestant who sells the most raffl e tickets. Winners are required to make a minimum of nine personal appearances during her year's reign, volunteering in whatever capacity she chooses.
One past winner volunteered at a soup kitchen and realized that the organization did not have to-go boxes, so people couldn't take food with them to eat later. She collected containers with lids and donated them to the organization. "I think every girl wants to win something, and maybe they're not a good volleyball player, so they want a pageant," Muirheid said.
"It's a platform that can open up doors for them. Sometimes when they come in with the crown and sash, it opens the door that they couldn't get in if they were just a 13 year old girl." Queen Teen Junior Miss Pre-Teen.
