Area contestants to compete in Miss Arkansas Pageant

— The Miss Arkansas and Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen pageants will once again take place during the same week. The pageants will be today through Saturday at Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock.

Preliminaries for both pageants will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen finals will be at 7 p.m. Friday, and the Miss Arkansas finals will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday. Doors will open at 6 each night.

Preliminary awards will be made in artistic expression (talent), lifestyle and fitness (swimsuit), and presence and poise (evening gown).

Several young women with ties to the Three Rivers Edition coverage area will compete in the annual Miss Arkansas Pageant:

• Miss Historic Batesville — Claudia Raffo of Jonesboro, the 22-year-old daughter of Tommy Raffo and Paula Raffo — will perform a jazz dance to “That’s Life” for her talent. Her platform is New Life Saves Lives: Umbilical Cord Donation.

A recent graduate of Arkansas State University with a degree in chemistry, she is a student at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy in Little Rock. She will compete in interview on Monday, swimsuit on Tuesday, evening gown and onstage question on Wednesday, and talent on Thursday.

• Miss Metro — Bethany Kasper of Jacksonville, the 19-year-old daughter of Melissa and Travis Kasper of Jacksonville — will present a vocal rendition of the Broadway song “Maybe This Time” for her talent. Her platform is Our Kids Read.

A junior theater major at the University of Arkansas, she will compete in interview on Monday, swimsuit on Tuesday, evening gown and onstage question on Wednesday, and talent on Thursday.

• Miss Texarkana Twin Rivers — Kyla Soden of Cabot, the 20-year-old daughter of Mike and Donya Soden of Jonesboro and Newport — will present an acro-lyrical routine to “I Was Here” for her talent. Her platform is Empowering Hearts: I Can, I Will.

A junior pre-medicine/biology major at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, she will compete in interview on Monday, swimsuit on Tuesday, evening gown and onstage question on Wednesday, and talent on Thursday.

KATV Channel 7 in Little Rock has partnered with KAIT Channel 8 in Jonesboro and KFSM Channel 5 in Fort Smith to simulcast the Miss Arkansas Pageant’s final competition at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets to the Miss Arkansas Pageant are available by calling the Robinson Box Office at (501) 244-8800 for possible discounts or through the pageant business office at (501) 321-3506. Tickets are also available through TicketMaster online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745- 3000.

For more information, visit the website missarkansas.org.

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