Half a year later, and in a decidedly smaller venue, the 2020 Miss and Mr. Blossomtime Pageants are finally on the calendar for next Saturday, September 26th in Michigan’s Great Southwest.
Blossomtime Festival President Anna Abdelnour says, ““The Blossomtime Festival is honored to be able to present the 2020 Miss and Mr. Blossomtime Pageant. We are overjoyed to be able to give the young people of Southwest Michigan this opportunity and we are eager to see who will be crowned Miss and Mr. Blossomtime and their respective courts of honor.” She adds, “Not only will they receive the title of Miss Blossomtime and Mr. Blossomtime, they will receive scholarship dollars that can be used to further their education. 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone and our pageant will present itself differently than years past, but the heart of the festival continues to beat strongly for the young people of our communities as we travel this new road together.”
You can attend the pageant…but only in the virtual realm. The pageant will take place at the Harbor Shores Golf Club Event Tent, with the Mr. Blossomtime Pageant beginning at 1:00 pm, followed by the Miss Blossomtime Pageant which gets underway at 3:00 pm. However, due to Michigan’s COVID-19 pandemic state guidelines, the pageants will be closed outdoor events and no public tickets will be sold, nor will any tickets be available to purchase at the door. Instead, for those interested in watching the annual tradition, the pageant will be streamed live for anyone to view and as the pageant date draws closer, details will be provided on the organization’s Facebook page under Blossomtime Festival, Inc.
The Blossomtime Festival is the oldest, largest, multi-community Festival in Michigan, celebrating 114 years this year. The goal of the Festival is to provide young adults in Southwest Michigan with mentoring opportunities, to learn about the region’s rich agricultural history and to assist in making their educational dreams come true by providing scholarships.
Each year the Blossomtime Festival crowns a Queen and King to celebrate the coming of Spring in this rich agricultural region. The very first Miss Blossomtime, Catherine Burrell from Benton Harbor, was crowned in 1924 and the first ever Mr. Blossomtime, Jake Belter from the community of Stevensville, was crowned in 1997.
On September 26th, the legacy continues as they crown the 88th Miss Blossomtime and 24th Mr. Blossomtime for the festival.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market, Olivia Ellis is crowned Miss Blossomtime 2019 last year.
