Sunny West Palm Beach is set to be decked out in red, white and blue this week as it hosts the Miss America pageant for the first time.
Saturday's opening ceremonies marked the first in a series of events in a week of competition that will see 52 women representing each of the 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia go head-to-head for the chance to win the 99th crown and scholarships on Sunday, Sept. 6.
This year marks the special occasion of coinciding with America's 250th birthday.
The opening ceremony, at the Lake Pavilion along West Palm Beach's waterfront, saw each delegate arrive in business professional attire and don their state sashes, as they were all awarded the chance to introduce themselves as well as the community
service work.
As part of the event and introduction, one by one each women were given their competition sash, which they will wear for the week. The sash is usually black but this year has been given a new navy blue color to honor the 250th birthday of the nation.
"I'm just one of over 10,000 volunteers behind the Miss America mission, and it is a 105-year-old brand. Our mission is empowering women to lead with purpose and to make an impact in their communities," Miss America CEO Robin Fleming said.
Fleming expressed that there is much excitement in bringing the competition, which dates to 1921 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to South Florida for the first time.
"What we'll be doing this week is enjoying every bit of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach. (The delegates) are going on some excursions later today and throughout the week to get a little taste of what it's like to be here in South Florida and America's first tourism destination."
Milton Segarra, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, welcomed the group to West Palm and said that the partnership with Miss America has many similarities.
"Miss America and the Palm Beaches, we have a few things in common. There's a legacy for many, many years as Robin said, 105 for (Miss America). In our case, this destination, we've been in place for more than 125 years, welcoming people from all over the world, artists, leaders, visionaries, entertainers from the world coming here," Segarra said.
The delegates are set to go on excursions through the week amid their competitions, many of them on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and Thursday, Sept. 3.
The pageant — and its younger sibling, Miss America's Teen — will call West Palm Beach its home for the next three years, with its events split between the Palm Beach County Convention Center and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Its events will be livestreamed on pageantvision.tv.
The 2027 Miss America pageant schedule:
- Monday, Aug. 31: Arrival Ceremony, Hilton West Palm Beach, 600 Okeechobee Blvd., 3:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Sept. 1: Miss America's Teen Preliminary Competition, Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Boulevard, 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, Sept. 2: Miss America Preliminary Competition, Kravis Center, 7 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 3: Miss America's Got Talent Competition, Kravis Center, 5 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 4: Pre-Gala Red Carpet, Palm Beach County Convention Center, 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 5: Miss America's Teen Final, Kravis Center, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 6: Miss America Final, Palm Beach County Convention Center, 7 p.m.
Arianna Otero covers breaking news for the Palm Beach Post. Contact her via email at AOtero@pbpost.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miss America: West Palm welcomes 52 contestants as pageant week starts
