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Contestants, from left, Blythe Beebe, Stephanie Hornback and Meghan Anderson run through the opening number of the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Pageant during rehearsal at the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam Tuesday.
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Contestant Stephanie Hornback sings with the Raindrop Princesses during a Rehearsal for Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Pageant at the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam Tuesday.
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Contestant Meghan Anderson waves to the house during a rehearsal for Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Pageant at the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam Tuesday.
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Contestant Blythe Beebe practies the opening number of the Miss Grays Harbor Scholarship Pageant during a rehearsal at the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam Tuesday.
MACLEOD PAPPIDAS | THE DAILY WORLD
Miss Grays Harbor contestant Victoria Baumgardner practices her onstage interview during rehearsal for Scholarship Pageant at the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam Tuesday.
After months of rehearsals, contestants for Miss Grays Harbor and Miss Grays Harbor’s Outstanding Teen are taking to the stage at Hoquiam’s 7th Street Theatre this week in preparation for the pageants Friday and Saturday.
“They’re excited, they’re nervous,” pageant director Sue Drolz said. “It’s always fun when we get in here on the actual stage.”
For some, the stage is more familiar than others. For the first time, a title winner from the teen pageant will compete for the Miss Grays Harbor title — and there are two of them.
Lauren Kuhn and Blythe Beebe won the teen title, in 2008 and 2010 respectively, and now face off for the crown. Drolz said there’s no sense of competition between them, though.
“This is a great group of girls, they’re really supportive of each other,” she said. “I can honestly say all six have wonderful talents.”
The contestants range in age from Beebe at 17, the youngest end of eligibility, to Meghan Anderson at 23. Young women can compete until they’re 24.
Teens can compete from 12-17, and 11 of them will vie for a title of their own this weekend. Raindrop Princesses are 7-11, and 30 of them will be featured in the show.
Reigning Miss Washington, Mandy Schendel, will perform at Saturday night’s event. And Melissa Hornback, the outgoing Miss Grays Harbor, will perform with fellow former Miss Washington contestant Catherine Watters. Watters, a majorette at the University of Washington, will perform with her baton while Hornback sings.
The teen pageant is this Friday, followed by the Miss Grays Harbor pageant Saturday. Both start at 7 p.m. at Hoquiam’s historic 7th St. Theatre. Tickets are $15 and are on sale now at Harbor Drug in Hoquiam, Rosevear’s Music in Aberdeen and at the Aberdeen Bank of the Pacific branch.
