For Miss Wantagh Pageant, The Show Will Go On

WANTAGH — The popular annual Miss Wantagh Pageant show, a staple in the community for more than six decades, will continue virtually this year due to the coronavirus, organizers said. The event is scheduled for July 1 and can be celebrated through various social media platforms, including the Miss Wantagh Facebook page.

"Everyone near and far will be able to see all the young ladies participating in this year’s pageant and why they want to be a part of the 2020 Miss Wantagh Court," the Fourth of July Association said in a news release Friday.

Miss Wantagh will receive her crown on the Fourth of July.

The tradition began in 1963 with the "Miss Wantagh Pageant" community show. The pageant became an annual event in the town, as high school age girls and young women competed for the title of Miss Wantagh.

The pageant has traditionally been held at the end of June before the town’s annual Fourth of July parade. Wantagh High School hosted the pageant, where young ladies conveyed their hopes for their future and vision should they win the prestigious crown.

"Then this year, COVID-19 hit and normal life as we knew it, changed for all of us," organizers said.

The pageant and annual Fourth of July parade — where Miss Wantagh is crowned — were canceled.

But members of the community spoke out in support of the event.

"But the show must go on" past and present Miss Wantagh Court members told organizers. "The contributions and support the Miss Wantagh organization gives to our community is too vital to skip over."

With the help of technology, the show will go on.

The Miss Wantagh organization has virtually met for two months to plan the 2020 pageant. Even rehearsals were held virtually. Former Court members took to social media to share their stories of how their involvement helped shaped their lives and perspectives. To them, the Miss Wantagh Pageant wasn't a beauty pageant, it was a pageant where young ladies expressed their love of the community, as shown through their involvement in activities and groups that better the town and that continue to give back long after graduation.

"Stay tuned to the Miss Wantagh Facebook page as we post daily information on the upcoming pageant and the 4th of July crowning …. because the show and Miss Wantagh MUST go on!" organizers said.