By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
With summer coming around the corner, the 2024 Fourth of July Pageant will be held again this summer on June 22, and the deadline for participants to sign up is on Friday, May 10.
From the Del Rio Community Spotlight Facebook page, the pageant is under the direction of the City of Del Rio Community Services Department, and the participation fee for the pageant entires will be $20. Esme Meza, community services director, said people can reach out to her for further assistance in submitting information.
Meza said individuals have to be living in Del Rio to participate. She said this event is more centered on local and community events, while winners from other pageants will compete out of the city.
“Were not gonna send them to compete like in Miss Texas or anything like that; this is more local and so that is what makes it different,” Meza said.
Meza said they have moved the pageant date to June 22 to allow the pageant winners to attend the Rotary Club’s annual Independence Day Rodeo the following week. May 20 and June 7 will be dates for headsets at the City of Del Rio Communications and Marketing Department, and the dress rehearsal will be on June 21 at the Red Oak Ballroom at the Del Rio Civic Center.
The categories include Baby Miss (six-months to two-years-olds), Toddler Miss (two-years-old to four-yeas-old), Tiny Miss (five0years-old to six-years-old), Little Miss (seven-years-old to nine-years-old), Preteen (10-years-old to 12-years-old), Junior (13-years-old to 15-years-old), Teen (16-years-old to 18-years-old), and Miss (19-years-old to 26-years-old). Others categories not focusing on age include Miss Photogenic, Miss Firecracker (Most Patriotic Attire), and Miss Independence (People’s Choice Award).
There will also be a King category for boys to participate in, which will include categories in the Children’s Male Division (5-years-old to 12-years-old) and the Teen Division (13-years-old to 17-years-old). Meza said the category was something their Fourth of July staff brought up to include this year.
Meza said 2023 was the first year they held the Miss Fourth of July Pageant. She said Manuel Chavez, Interim City Manager, wanted them to explore the option of creating a Miss Fourth of July Pageant at the time.
