As June approaches, the Miss Salt River Pageant Committee is recruiting young women to compete to be crowned the next Miss and Jr. Miss Salt River. The committee has come up with a new way of presenting the pageant virtually so everyone can view it without a crowd of people gathering in one space. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year, both pageants were placed on hold, just like most every other event across the world. But that didn’t stop the Pageant Committee from having someone represent the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for 2020. 

“We had approached the young ladies who were First Attendants for the 2019 court, and their families, and asked them if they were interested in carrying out the titles of Miss and Jr. Miss [Salt River] for 2020,” said Miss Salt River Pageant Committee Vice-Chair Jessica Ruiz. “We did have a crowning ceremony for them at the Community Garden. We are so grateful they agreed to carry out this year with us.”

This year the committee is prioritizing the safety of the contestants and everyone involved. They decided to have each contestant come in and pre-record their portion of the pageant, and the SRPMIC Information Technology Department will upload the video to the SRPMIC Vimeo page. 

“We will be recording at a secure and sanitized location,” said Ruiz. “The safety of our contestants and everyone involved, such as the backstage hands, singers and everyone participating in the program, is our top priority.” 

But that’s not the only change. This year the Miss Salt River contestants will not be performing a modern talent, which will help shorten the length of the video. The judges will have their own private viewing of the pageant, and tabulators will be present. None of the committee members will see the results.

“Our judges will give our tabulators their scores, and the tabulators won’t give us the results till the crowning,” said Ruiz.

The reading of the results and crowning of Miss and Jr. Miss Salt River 2021 will be held at the Community Garden. That event will be closed to the Community but will be held live on social media and the Vimeo page. The Jr. Miss Salt River Pageant will take place on June 17, and the Miss Salt River Pageant on June 18.

For more information on the 2021 pageants, visit the Miss Salt River Committee pages on Facebook and Instagram at misssaltrivercommittee.