Choose a Beauty Pageant Theme
Beauty Pageants attract most attendees if they are related to a central theme. Selecting one does not have to be difficult and can be as general as “The Ohio Service worker’s Beauty Pageant”. There are many themes to choose from such as a Teen, Children’s, Police Department, Beach, Town, Holiday, or Hobbyist pageant. A theme will determine the direction of your beauty pageant and influence decisions made in nearly every aspect of the event. It will be evident in your promotional materials, decorations, contestants, questions and prizes. The prizes for a children’s beauty pageant would be much different than those given at events with a college sorority theme.
Select Categories for the Beauty Pageant
Once you have chosen a theme for your beauty pageant, decide on the number of categories will be displayed during this competition. If the pageant is based solely on fashion, choose the number and type of segments that will be covered. You can also mix the fashion in with some questionnaire segments. Match the categories with your theme no matter what type of segments are chosen. If your theme is religious, asking contestants about their favorite MTV videos would be inappropriate.
Pick a Beauty Pageant Location
Beauty Pageant’s usually take place in large venues like banquet halls and hotel meeting rooms. However, you can also host a beauty pageant in school auditoriums, churches, community centers and even vacation lodges. Select a location that can accommodate the kind of crowd you expect to show up. A grade school would not be the best location to host a beauty pageant to promote your sports bar or strip club. However, there are many opportunities for unconventional beauty pageant locations. Auto Dealerships may be a fun location if the company is sponsoring your event.
Make a List of Rules
Develop an application and submission process for contestants who want to participate in the fashion show. Select a specific amount of contestants from the pool of applicants who are interested in participating. There should also be age requirements for contestants in your fashion show. Consult with local officials to find out if there are any laws pertaining to age for this type of event. You should also make a list of rules about who cannot participate due to conflict of interest.
Hire a Beauty Pageant Staff
Hosting a beauty pageant by yourself is next to impossible and can cause you to be unorganized. Hire a staff to help out with tasks during the planning stages of your beauty pageant. These staff members should also be expected to assist on the day of the actual event. Basic beauty pageant staff members include a backstage organizer for the contestants, admission handlers, ushers and one host. The duties and staff are determined based on the needs of your particular event.
Develop a Voting Process
If you will be using judges, confirm all individuals who will be judging your beauty pageant. He or she should take this responsibility very seriously and offer help with any planning tasks. Will there be one winner or a grand prize with runner ups? You can also develop a voting process for the audience if judges are not being used. Voting rules should be determined while planning to host a beauty pageant, not on the day of this event.
Select Beauty Pageant Awards and Prizes
Sashes and Tiaras can be expensive, but are some of the most common beauty pageant awards. Select awards or prizes during a few months leading up to the beauty pageant. You do not have to purchase them far in advance if the funds are not in place. It still helps to have a good idea of what contestants will win at your pageant. The awards and prizes do not have to be expensive and can match your pageant theme.
