A Yellowknife teen is preparing to put her best foot forward when she travels to Toronto in July to compete in the Miss Teenage Canada pageant.
Marie-Luna Langlois Escandon, a Grade 11 student at Sir John Franklin High School, will be wearing the sash Miss Teenage Yellowknife 2024 while competing in her quest for the crown.
“I think this contest is about confidence,” Escandon said.
“You need to know how to talk in public and how to act and this will help me also,” she said of the experience of being onstage with other contestants.
Although she grew up in Quebec, Escandon has Colombian roots and she said such contests are very popular in South America.
“I wanted to try something new and participate and inspire other young girls to pursue their dreams,” she said.
Michelle Weswaldi, owner/executive director of Pageant Group Canada Inc. in Toronto, said in an email she created the Miss Teenage Canada pageant in 2008.
The company also produces a pageant for those in the 18-32 age bracket, and has the rights to send participants to Miss World Canada, which her company also produces, and to four other international pageants, according to Weswaldi.
While the Miss Teenage Canada pageant used to draw in 50 to 75 contestants prior to Covid, they now have 36 for this year's event, she said, adding she wants to expand that number again.
Through an online voting system on the ‘Catch the Crown’ website, the public votes for their preferred contestant and the 20 teenagers with the most votes get to compete.
This year's event will be held July 14. Escandon will be in Toronto area for 10 days with the other contestants, during which time she will first do a professional photo shoot to post on her social media.
Weswaldi said the girls will go “somewhere fun, to a show or to Wonderland or something” during one of the days and on the other days, they will do photo shoots, videos and participate in the talent and fashion show.
“And they rehearse a lot,” she said.
The pageant will be held at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts.
Such dreams come with a cost, however, and Weswaldi said there are expenses associated with the pageant.
“I guess think of it like a camp or extracurricular activity,” Weswaldi said in her email, noting that meals and lodging are covered.
For Escandon, she has paid $3,000 for her chance at the Miss Teenage Canada title.
Weswaldi said there is a ‘Top 5’ group of winners, plus a Miss Teenage Goodwill Ambassador, a Miss Teenage Ambassador, a Miss Teenage Congeniality and a series of “Best in...” categories.
The winner of the Miss Teenage Canada competition will travel and compete in the Miss Teen Mundial (World) competition that is usually held in El Salvador, Weswaldi said.
Escandon said she is grateful to represent her community and hopes it encourages and inspires others to believe in their abilities.
“The challenge of participating in the Miss Teenage Canada pageant came as an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and accomplish something extraordinary. I am delighted to demonstrate that even coming from a small town with limited opportunities, anything is possible with determination and hard work,” Escandon wrote in a previous email to NNSL Media.