Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade returns, this time sans rain
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on September 10, 2016 at 10:12 PM, updated September 11, 2016 at 11:40 AM
After two consecutive years of drenched pageant queens, the Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade returned to the boardwalk in Atlantic City and a crowd that happily preferred the dry, windy evening over last year's ponchos, umbrellas and soaked boards.
On the eve of the pageant Saturday, members of the public and supporters of each state Miss, who wore matching T-shirts, gathered over a two-mile span from New Jersey Avenue to South Albany Avenue.
An array of school marching bands and dancing groups entertained the crowd as contestants from Alabama to Wyoming, perched atop classic cars, showed off their elaborate state-themed shoes and ensembles.
Miss America offers a sneak peek at Atlantic City's Show Us Your Shoes Parade
Miss New Jersey, Brenna Weick, wore a pair of shoes outfitted with Atlantic City dice and playing cards, while Miss Arizona, Katelyn Niemec, wore lace-up gladiator shoes crafted from an array of pennies, in tribute to the state's copper mining tradition. Miss Minnesota, Madeline Van Ert, complimented her Prince-themed stems with a "Purple Rain"-style outfit, complete with an amethyst jacket and white ruffled shirt.
Fronting the parade were Don Guardian, mayor of Atlantic City, wiping away the sweat from his brow, and Miss America Betty Cantrell, showing off her bejeweled pumps on a float stuffed with a giant high-heeled shoe.
Miss Ohio, Alice Magoto, at 18 the youngest contestant in the pageant and the winner of a preliminary swimsuit award, wore an ensemble dedicated to the Ohio River. One shoe paid homage to catfish. The other, a riverboat with paddle wheels.
"I'm just proud that she's gotten this far," said her father, Mike Magoto. "It's been a great journey."
Miss Missouri, Erin O'Flaherty, the first openly gay Miss America contestant, was outfitted in Kansas City Royals attire, including glitzy team sneakers. Miss Florida, Courtney Sexton, wore rainbow heels and held a sign that remembered the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.
"Orlando United — We stand together as one community," it read.
Her sister, Brittany Hobbs, who wore a matching shirt, said Sexton, a former Miss Orlando, lives a little more than a mile away from where the shooting happened.
"She's a part of that community and she loves Orlando," Hobbs said.
A squirrel suddenly darted out in front of the slow-moving parade ahead of the car carrying Miss Washington, Alicia Cooper, who wore a green train emblazoned with Starbucks' siren logo.
C. Freeman-Jackson, a dentist from Georgia and mother of Cierra Jackson, Miss District of Columbia, watched the parade with family and friends.
"I'm looking at the next Miss America," she said of her daughter, who wore blue heels sprinkled with miniature versions of buildings from the nation's capital.
Jackson, who won a swimsuit award in preliminary competition, is one of two contestants who used to compete in the Miss Georgia pageant. Cantrell, the reigning titleholder, took the crown as Miss Georgia.
Another year, another Miss. But will this year's winner allow the Atlantic City pageant to reach a specific milestone?
"It shows what a powerhouse Georgia is," said Kristy Miller, 26, friend to the reigning Miss Georgia, Patricia Ford.
Martina Larry, a Miss Texas supporter, watched the parade with her daughter, Michaela Larry, a local pageant winner in Miss Coppell's Outstanding Teen who hopes to one day earn the state title and a spot in the Atlantic City parade.
"It's personal for us," she said.
Outside the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, which may close in October, red-shirted Atlantic City Casino Workers, on strike, stood in front of a giant inflatable rat, which had been adorned with a crown and feather boa.
"The Atlantic City employees here really take ownership of the pageant," said Roseann Carothers, mother of Miss Texas, Caroline Carothers, who took her talent for baton-twirling to the Miss America stage with nary a drop.
The 2017 Miss America pageant airs at 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11 on ABC. Follow our live updates from Boardwalk Hall at nj.com/entertainment.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/09/miss_america_show_us_your_shoes_parade_2016.html
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