Press Release
Shrimp Festival Committee
Submitted by Judie Mackie
[email protected]
February 10, 2018 1:00 p.m.
If you know a high school junior or senior residing in Nassau County, Florida, who is interested in participating in the 55th Annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival’s Miss Shrimp Festival Scholarship Pageant, now is the time to enter. Sponsored by Hampton Inn & Suites Amelia Island-Historic Harbor Front, pageant contestants will be judged on poise, personality, appearance, and interview responses. Miss Shrimp Festival 2018 will win a $1,000.00 scholarship, and participants are expected to attend several events before and after the pageant.
Prior to the Shrimp Festival, mandatory rehearsals will be held at Bean School of Dance, 25 N. Third Street, in Fernandina Beach. The first rehearsal and organizational meeting will be held on Sunday, March 25th, at 3:00 p.m., and remaining rehearsals will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., every Sunday in March and April. Contestants will be coached on stage presence, learn a choreographed dance routine, and practice answering interview questions.
A dinner and judge’s interviews will be held on Wednesday, May 2nd, at The Hampton Inn & Suites. Those entering the pageant must participate in the Shrimp Festival’s Pirate Parade on May 3rd, and the pageant will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 4th, after the festival’s opening ceremonies. Miss Shrimp Festival 2018 is required to be available during the remainder of the Shrimp Festival weekend to participate in other activities such as judging a variety of contests including the Best Beard Contest, The Best Dressed Adult Pirate Costume Contest, the Little Pirate contests, and the Blessing of the Fleet. Other requirements include participating in the 2019 Pirate Parade and the 2019 Miss Shrimp Festival Pageant to help crown next year’s winner. Additionally, there will be opportunities all year for Miss Shrimp Festival to participate in other parades and events during her reign.
If you have any questions, please contact Crystal Haney, pageant director, at (912)674-3316, or Pageant Choreographer Kristen Conner at (904)753-2488. For contestant applications and additional information, please visit ShrimpFestival.com. The Deadline to enter the Miss Shrimp Festival Pageant is March 25, 2018.
Fernandina Beach, Florida, is known as the Birthplace of the Modern Shrimping Industry and the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival is four festivals in one: a music festival, a kid’s festival, a fine arts festival, and a seafood festival featuring shrimp, of course. The Shrimp Festival is consistently rated as one of the best events in North America by Sunshine Artist Magazine. An estimated 130,000 visitors will attend the free, three-day event. The festival kicks-off with a Pirate Parade at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, May 3, 2018, and continues through Sunday, May 6th. For more information visit ShrimpFestival.com.