by Peter Bodley
Managing editor

A Coon Rapids Snowflake Days youth event, the annual 2010 Coon Rapids Junior Royalty Pageant will be on stage in the auditorium of Coon Rapids High School tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 6), starting at 1 p.m.

The pageant includes four divisions.

• Petite for girls ages five to seven in which contestants are Sofia Vasquez, Hannah Mudick, Tamala King and Ariana Davis.

• Commodore for boys ages five to nine with one candidate, Dawson Hamilton.

• Junior for girls ages eight to 12 in which there are nine candidates - Victoria Jackson, Leah Mau, Alexandra Kustzyb, Ellen Joy Stanley, Jessica Sherlock, Alyssa Baron, Raven Yzaguirre, Maisy Johnson and Maggie Gese.

• Teen for girls ages 13 to 16, where there are two contestants - Margaret Rippe and Abigayle Stanley.

Judging is based on interview and modeling with a personal speech.

Junior Royalty Pageant contestants have to live in Coon Rapids or go to school in the city.

According to Junior Royalty Pageant Director Diane Buszta, contestants compete to become members of the “royal family” and act as ambassadors for the city of Coon Rapids at parades, community events and volunteer socials for the period of a year.

“They are also required to perform 10 hours of community service within our community during their reign,” Buszta said.

“The Junior Royalty’s family philosophy is for the children and their families to have fun while fulfilling their community obligations.”

At the pageant there will be a silent auction of dozens of items on which bids can be placed with the winners being announced at the end of the pageant.

Tickets cost $8. The pageant is sponsored by the Coon Rapids Junior Royalty Pageant Committee.

Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it