The 30 Miss Tennessee Candidates will take the stage Thursday for the first night of competition at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. But before the competition heated up and a winner was crowned on Saturday, the women had the chance to step out and experience Memphis.
Since arriving in Bluff City, contestants have visited Graceland and Beale Street and are expected to attend the Duck Walk at the Peabody.
And on Monday, it was all about Midtown Memphis. Thirty silver tiaras glistened in the sunlight as contestants made their way through the area. The first stop on their tour: Theater house on the square.
Playhouse executive producer Michael Detroit shared stories about the history of the theater, including information about Elvis Presley’s time at the Circuit Playhouse.
To celebrate the theater’s reopening on July 9 since it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the women got a taste of what to expect for Playhouse’s 53rd season of production. Participants at the Summer Youth Theater Conservatory previewed two numbers of their upcoming show “Frozen in Summer” and received a standing ovation.
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As performers, the mission and work that Playhouse embodies resonated with the competition.
“Playhouse on the Square was so amazing,” Miss Nashville Tally Bevis said. “I come from a family of artists. And my brother is an entertainer in Nashville. So watching them support the local theater is incredibly empowering, because … there are so many singers and performers. [in the competition]. ”
After the show, the ladies walked over to Memphian’s new hotel. With its undoubtedly Instagram-worthy interior design, contestants pondered the pops of color in the artwork, posed with the piano in the lobby, and took photos of the chandelier made of peach floats. neon.
Adorned in bright magenta, yellow, emerald, and tangerine outfits and crisp white sashes, the contestants blended into the hotel’s whimsical design. Once inside, they visited the Tiger and Peacock Rooftop Bar. On the theme of astrology, the ceiling was painted like the night sky with the constellations of the zodiac above the bar.
In the yard of Overton Square, Miss Historic Greeneville Bailey Cheek and Miss Greene County Leah Fillers eased the pressure ahead of the competition by playing cornhole.
Brianna Mason, the reigning Miss Tennessee and the first black woman to hold the title, represented Greene County in the 2019 competition.
“Big shoes to fill in,” Fillers said simply. “Who wouldn’t want another Miss Tennessee from Greene County?” ”
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On Tuesday, competitors stopped at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital to brighten up the patients’ day.
After a few FaceTime calls with hospital patients, the ladies drew inspirational chalk pictures on the sidewalk leading to the hospital entrance.
Although the ladies haven’t met any patients in person, Miss Bluff City Fair Lydia Fisher, from Memphian, said she hopes their efforts can help bring life and light to the children’s hospital.
“It means a lot. It’s really going to help raise all these kids. And my platform, as I mentioned, is special education and placement,” said Fisher, who works closely with the kids. with special needs. “So, Le Bonheur is a very good service for families for children with special needs, so it’s a very universal time for me. “
A common goal for many applicants is to market their social impact initiatives with the reach that the Miss America platform offers them. For Miss Middle Tennessee Lily Rose Steed, that social issue is agricultural education.
“Overall, Miss Tennessee is service-based for me. That’s the only reason I joined Miss Tennessee. It wasn’t for the crown. It wasn’t for the belt, ”said Steed, a third-generation farmer. “These two have things to do with it because they take you into areas that you can go and serve. However, it is important for us to have a service project this week to remind us of Miss Tennessee’s purpose and what her job would be to lead Tennessee.
