First night of Miss Connecticut out of the way

by MIKE CHAIKEN

CTFashionMag.com

A Wolcott woman and a contestant representing Litchfield County were among the preliminary competition winners at the first night of the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Pageant at The Palace Theater in Waterbury Friday night.

The pageant continued on Saturday night where the new Miss Connecticut would be crowned. In the afternoon on Saturday, the Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen would be selected. The teen would take over for the current titleholder, Waterbury’s Brooke Cyr.

Miss Nutmeg Alyssa Anderson of Wolcott won a preliminary talent award on Saturday night with her tap dance routine. For her competition group, she tied with Miss Litchfield County Jonet Nichelle of North Haven also performed a tap dance number. In the second competition group, Miss Mountain Laurel Bridget Oei won the talent award for her Irish step dance routine.

This is the last year that contestants will compete fitness and lifestyle, i.e. swimsuits. The Miss America Organization eliminated that category for September’s national competition.

However, Miss Connecticut held the competition category for one more time this year. Nichelle won the preliminary award in lifestyle in fitness and fitness as did Oei.

In addition to talent and lifestyle and fitness, contestants on Friday competed in an onstage interview where they were asked questions they pulled from a fish bowl. The questions tapped into a variety of hot button current event topics including offering up a grading of President Donald Trump’s performance thus far, the legalization of marijuana, the appropriateness of celebrities offering up political views on awards shows, and parental responsibility for youths accused of school shootings.

 PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN

More photos will be forthcoming.

Miss Greater Waterbury Danielle Radeke at Friday’s preliminary competition for Miss Connecticut.
Miss Nutmeg Alyssa Anderson won a preliminary talent award at Miss Connecticut’s preliminary competition Friday night at The Palace in Waterbury.