The Miss Dinuba 2024 Pageant was held on Saturday evening September 14, 2024. ASB President, senior Alexis Lopez was crowned Miss Dinuba 2024, highlighting her platform “Light Through Darkness.” Last year’s winner, Catricia Alvarez, crowned the winner.
Miss Lopez showcased her talent by singing the song, “Vienna,” by Billy Joel. She said the song reminded her of her childhood and her late father, David Lopez, who passed away when she was ten years old. Her platform, inspired by her own experience with loss, is to help children get the help and support they need when faced with loss and grief.
The first runner-up, Ava Rose Arias, performed an original monologue titled, “Finding your stability.” She formatted her performance much like a TedTalk; she wants to help others find stability in their lives. Her Miss Dinuba platform is aimed at helping children like herself who come from broken homes and blended families. “I’m here today sharing my story because I refuse to allow another child within Dinuba to be left feeling alone and helpless,” said Miss Arias.
Second runner-up, Madison Avila, also performed an original monologue titled, “If You Give a Child a Book,” a reference to the classic children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff. Both the monologue and book stem from the idea that if you give someone something, they’ll want more. “When a child reads, their mind grows like a garden in bloom. Words become seeds that sprout new ideas and dreams,” said Miss Avila. Her performance tied into her platform for promoting literacy and helping children develop a lifelong love of reading.
Photo provided courtesy of Ava Rose Arias.
Mariah Sahagun was crowned Miss Congeniality, an award voted on by other contestants for her friendly, helpful attitude throughout the Miss Dinuba training and rehearsals. For the talent portion of the competition, she danced to the song “A Little Party” by Fergie.
Contestant Aaliyah Costa earned the People’s Choice Award for the night. She sang the song “All That Matters” from the Broadway musical Finding Neverland, winning the favor of the audience.
The list of competitors for the night were Nathalie Gaytan, Madison Avila, Sarah J. Vega, Rose Baretto, Aaliyah Costa, Kathya Farias, Ailyn Jimenez, Ava Rose Arias, Mariah Sahagun, and Alexis Lopez. All performed and represented Dinuba High School admirably.
All of the winners received scholarship prizes and make-up packages from Mary Kay Cosmetics. The results were based on a combination of contestant interviews (35% of the total score), talent competition (30%), evening gown and platform presentation (25%), and an onstage question (10%).
The co-hosts for the evening were Miss Dinuba 2013, Maddi Tuttle, and KSEE24 Weathercaster, Reuben Contreras.
Congratulations to all of the winners and contestants.
