Miss America. Among happenings in Atlantic City of late, it's certainly not the most pressing. Three casinos have closed, a fourth is due to shut down Tuesday, and bankruptcy has been filed, affecting yet another casino.
Yet the pageant has carried on with three nights of preliminary competition at Boardwalk Hall, leading to the live broadcast of the final. As the pageant airs on ABC Sunday night, the spotlight will be on Atlantic City once again, this time for a tradition that's been at the seaside city for the overwhelming majority of the years since 1921, when the pageant started as a business strategy for the Boardwalk. The same span where this week people were more than happy to demonstrate their pageant faces at a Miss America statue unveiled last year.
Highlights of pageant week
Miss New Jersey, Cierra Kaler-Jones, 21, last week delivered a big hello to the Boardwalk, singing the praises of the pageant, which she said brought life and energy back to Atlantic City. Later, the Rutgers student was just one contestant - three have a domestic violence platform - who weighed in on the Ray Rice video, which became a hot topic Monday.
During preliminary competition, Miss Ohio, Mackenzie Bart, 22, won the judges over with her ventriloquist routine, and it probably helped that she was the only contestant to have that talent. The pageant saw another unconventional talent choice in Miss Maine, Audrey Thames, 19, who delivered a comedic monologue.
Miss Rhode Island, Ivy DePew, 23, collapsed on stage during competition Tuesday night and was taken to the hospital - yes, she had been eating, her family later said. Putting their pageant sisterhood to work, DePew's fellow contestants joined hands to form a ring around her until the paramedics arrived. She returned the following night to perform a flute routine, managing to not miss any of her categories.
Miss Pennsylvania, Amanda Fallon Smith, 21, a musical theater student at Carnegie Mellon University, won her talent preliminary with a 'Phantom of the Opera' song, while Miss Kentucky, Ramsey Carpenter, 23, took hers with her bluegrass fiddle routine.
Miss Maryland, Jade Kenny, 23, captured her 'Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit' preliminary, as did Miss Florida, Victoria Cowen, 21, and Miss Oklahoma, Alex Eppler, 24. While they said workouts were a must, the masters of the category equally praised doughnuts and pizza. She didn't win swimsuit, but Sierra Sandison, Miss Idaho, made a splash with her insulin pump clipped to her bikini and evening gown.
Pageant weekend
Here's how to watch Miss America, in person or on TV.
The 2015 Miss America pageant airs 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC, starting with an hour pre-show offering a live, behind-the-scenes look at the pageant at Boardwalk Hall. Also new this year: a 'hot pageant dad' competition that started as a gag at preliminaries. Look for Mr. South Dakota to be the favorite. The competition officially starts at 9 p.m.
The show starts at Boardwalk Hall at 8 p.m. Sunday; 2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. Tickets, $27.54 to $115.20, are available at (800) 745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.
But before then, the Show Us Your Shoes Parade kicks off tonight on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, in which contestants ride floats and rep their state with outlandish footwear and costumes - Miss New Jersey will wear her Rutgers pride in a Scarlet Knight-themed outfit and red and silver gladiator sandals. The parade starts, rain or shine, and today there's rain, at 5 p.m. at Connecticut Avenue, near the closed Revel Casino Hotel. For more information on attending, check the site.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup. Find our entertainment coverage and NJ.com on Facebook.
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