Community welcomes new royal court during Festival on the Bend
On Friday, Aug. 16, Nackawic-Millville excitedly gathered at the Nackawic Arena to watch who would become the new Miss Nackawic-Millville. At the end of the night, Kaylee Grant took the crown.
The evening began with the seven contestants, Abby Blaney, Kaylee Grant, Hannah Hinton, Hailey King, Abby Spavold, Taylor Trail, and Lily Wright, doing an introductory dance to hype the crowd.
The pageant was MC’d by Dave Haddon and was judged by dancer Brittany Lawrance, comedian Dave Lawrence, and Hot 93.1’s Afternoon Drive host Ethan Maat.
Nackawic Mayor Tim Fox greeted the attendees and shared his pride in former Miss Nackawic-Millville, Gracie Myshrall.
“She is very enthusiastic about the community spirit that we have in our community, and I know that she went to a lot of functions; she created a few of her own functions and set things up. That, to me, speaks volumes,” said Fox.
Myshrall is the first ever Miss Nackawic-Millville. The municipality joined in 2022, and since then, the pageant has expanded to include girls from both areas. During her time as Miss Nackawic-Millville, Myshrall had contributed numerous hours to her community.
Myshrall believes her time as Miss Nackawic-Millville has shaped her into who she is today.
“Being able to give back to my community as much as I have and inspiring the youth to volunteer is something I will cherish forever,” said Myshrall.
The seven participants shined while presenting their casual and evening wear to the crowd and judges. During the question portion of the night, each girl answered two questions. The first was an informal question based on their written biographies. Each contestant blindly chose the second question and covered more serious questions.
The crowd danced to musical guests Gary Morehouse and Ross Beckett’s performances during the score tabulation.
Miss Nackawic-Millville pageant organizer Karen Gillespie was happy to award King the Joyce Gordon Memorial Award. The award is named after Gillespie’s late friend. The award is given to the contestant who volunteers and helps the community the most.
Friends and family of the contestants waited anxiously for the results before Haddon announced the evening’s winners.
Grant won Miss Poster. This title goes to the girl who put together the best-handcrafted poster displayed to the judges earlier in the week.
King won Miss Autobiography. Each participant wrote an autobiography about who they are as a person. The judges could read them beforehand to get to know the contestants better before the night of the pageant.
Taylor Trial won Miss Congeniality. This title is voted by the contestants and is given to the girl who earned the most votes for being the kindest and most caring.
King won the Second Princess, and Lily Wright joined the royal court by winning the First Princess.
All girls said they were “very honoured” to be given their titles.
To end the night, Grant won Miss Nackawic-Millville. Grant says she has dreamed of this opportunity since childhood and can not wait to look after her community.
“It feels amazing. I’m most looking forward to being there for my community and going to all the fun events,” said Grant.
The night was a win, even for those not given a sash. Spavold says she is happy with her experience and does not regret a moment of her time.
“Even if you didn’t win, it’s still so much fun to join this,” said Spavold.
Gillespie is delighted with how the pageant went and is proud of how much work the girls put into making the night perfect.
“I’m just more proud of the girls and what a great job they did. This isn’t easy getting up here and doing this. They were all awesome. It could have been anyone, really,” said Gillespie.
Gillespie hopes Grant and other future contestants will be able to compete in the Miss New Brunswick Pageant next year. Gillespie would love to see Grant go further and experience the fun and great opportunities of the Miss New Brunswick Pageant.
“I’m very proud of each of them, hoping we’ll have a Miss New Brunswick next year,” said Gillespie.
