Little Miss, Junior Miss NIV open to all with easier requirements
OCEAN CITY — Ocean City is filled with opportunities for girls and young women to walk the stage and compete for a crown. Now there are two more pageants for the younger set.
This month, Ocean City is hosting Miss New Jersey at the Ocean City Music Pier after hosting many of its preliminaries in the same venue earlier in the year. Miss New Jersey is itself a preliminary to Miss America.
The resort also has its own pageants — Miss Ocean City, Junior Miss Ocean City and Little Miss Ocean City, which will be coming up Aug. 8, 14 and 15, respectively.
That doesn’t count the Miss Night in Venice pageant, which differs from the rest by choosing its winners by how much money contestants raise for local charities. Those competitors are out in the community soliciting funds right now.
The two new pageants — Little Miss Night in Venice and Junior Miss Night in Venice — will float in between all of them with easier requirements that encourage participation.
These two pageants will take place on one night this summer — July 15 at the Ocean City Music Pier.
The contestants, ages 8-11 for Little Miss NIV and 12-15 for Junior Miss NIV, don’t require any fundraising or, like the other pageants, serious talent competitions.
The Little Miss girls will have a brief interview and compete in boat wear and formal beach wear. The Junior Miss girls will have an interview, don evening gowns and answer an on-stage question. All proceeds from the pageant will be donated to OCNJ Cares, an organization that supports local causes.
Pageant director Aggie Becker said these Night in Venice pageants are meant to be open to any girls who want to participate but who may be apprehensive about the talent portion of the other pageants. Unlike other pageants, there are no residency requirements.
“Anybody who loves Ocean City and visits Ocean City can do it,” Becker said. “There are kids who may want to do things like this but they’re not taking dance or singing. We wanted to be a little more open to everybody.”
The winners will get to ride in the Night in Venice Boat Parade on Saturday evening, July 25, like the winners in the regular Miss Night in Venice competition.
“It’s a very low commitment,” Becker said, explaining there will be rehearsals on July 13 and 14.
“It’s a chance for kids to be on the Music Pier stage, which I think is pretty neat,” she said. “It’s something that’s super fun, just a good experience and we’re all excited for them to be a part of it.”
The money to be donated will be from ticket sales at the Music Pier.
To sign up for the pageant or to ask questions, email Becker at abecker@ocnj.us or to sign up, go online to the Ocean City website: https://ocnj.recdesk.com/Community/Home. Under “Events,” click on pageants. Registration closes June 30.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
