Albany Little Miss Pageant lets girls become princesses

ALBANY — Albany’s Little Miss Pageant, scheduled Jan. 26. at the Albany Municipal Auditorium, provides opportunities and unique experiences for girls up to age 12. This year’s pageant will include the addition of a new princess program for the winners.

Martez Favis, assistant principal of Lamar Reese Magnet School of the Arts, said he’s worked with the Miss America Organization for about six years and is in his fourth season as both executive director of Miss Albany and president of the pageant board of directors.

According to Favis, the pageant gives the contestants a chance to display their soft skills, perform and receive critique on their talents, and to showcase their public speaking abilities. The money raised for the event will contribute to the scholarship fund set up for miss and teen contestants.

Favis described the Little Miss pageant as a “feeder program,” which introduces girls to pageants and lets them get involved with Miss Albany and Miss Flint River pageants. Contestants have the opportunity to be mentored by Miss Albany’s Outstanding Teen and Miss Flint River’s Outstanding Teen if the girls decide to compete again when they get older.

This year, the Little Miss pageant will introduce a new element for the winners: an opportunity to become a princess.

“In the past, some of the girls have gone on to accompany our miss and teen queens at the state pageant in June,” Favis said. “But what we’re really doing this year is making that a bigger part of it. The girls that do win, those who are old enough, will get the opportunity to go as princesses to the Miss Georgia Pageant in Columbus. That’s an exciting addition.”

Favis added that the 10-day trip to Columbus isn’t mandatory.

In Favis’ time of overseeing the operations of Miss Albany, he said one of the greatest obstacles he faced to keep the show running was weathering the aftermath of the January 2017 storms. The storms came weeks ahead of the pageant, but Favis said the contestants “were so adamant about competing” that the organization held an orientation the Saturday before school started.

“The young ladies all rallied together and brought in hand warmers, snacks, nonperishable items,” Favis said. “We collected all of those, and we bundled them up. After we did orientation, we went around the city and delivered them to the linemen and people that were volunteering. That was a really beautiful addition.”

Albany’s Little Miss Pageant ends early bird registration with a $75 fee Monday. After Monday, regular registration continues until Jan. 24 with a $100 fee. Favis said the fastest way to let the organization know about registration interest is to send a message to the Miss Albany, Ga. Pageant Facebook page or email [email protected].

Tickets to the event will be sold on the day of the pageant at the door of the Albany Municipal Auditorium, located at 200 N. Jackson St. Tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for children age 7 and under.