Fairs Festivals & Michael Jackson

After a quick stop to Redlands Market night and the Pirate Adventure Dinner Experience in Buena Park my weekend was very full including a double shot of local festivities and Micheal Jackson impersonators.  I started out in the city of Victorville at the San Bernardino County Fair.  This annual fair features all types of activities for kids and adults alike.  As royalty with Desert Pageants, my daughter Bianca (Desert Pageants Tiny Overall Queen), attended the fair with her sister queens for her first appearance and of course mommy (better known as Ms Earth 2011) got to tag along.  Bianca worked in the toddler play area where they have lots of fun stuff for the kids to do and play with to help keep them entertained while giving them a chance to burn off some of that excess energy that little one's always seem to have.

After her shift was over we had a chance to walk around and tour the fairgrounds.  The highlight of my night was seeing The Legend Continues: Jeffery Perez: A Tribute to Micheal Jackson.  Now let me tell you this guy was A-MAZ-ING!  I think he really embodied the true spirit of MJ.  Not only did he dress, dance, and look like him but he sounded just like him too.  He had 4 back-up singers/dancers that were just as entertaining.  I couldn't help myself but to sing and dance along with him, especially when they did the choreography from the Beat It video (which I still have memorized from watching it a million times).  I was not expecting him to be as awesome as he was so I was pleasantly surprised and very entertained.  Now of course I tried to go backstage and take a picture with him but nowadays I tell you beauty queens get no love!  The bouncer told me a big fat NO, so here is a picture of him on stage, the best that I could get.

On our way out of the fair we made one more stop at the Kona Shaved Ice Truck.  I am really loving this new gourmet food truck revolution and one of my favorite things about fairs is of course the food.  The San Bernardino County Fair did have a nice display of variety for foodies like me to munch on including deliciously flavor shaved ice.  The workers on this truck are definitely a cheery and colorful bunch, I wonder if is has anything to do with all the treats they have on board.

My next adventure was up the coast of California on to the city of Oxnard for the 28th annual Strawberry Festival.  This is one of my favorite festivals, despite the fact that i get sick there every year (I'm allergic to something but I don't know what).  This festival not only celebrates my favorite fruit, but it's also a fundraising tribute to the region's agricultural industry.  Over the years the festival has garnered more than $3.5 million for various south land charities.  Some of the money raised goes for college scholarships to the underprivileged children of the immigrant workers who actually work out in the fields picking fruit. Many charities such as the United Way, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Rotary Clubs, Churches, and school sports/booster clubs set up booths at the event selling food or special strawberry dishes that hundreds of folks line up to eat.  Some of my favorites are the strawberry pizza, strawberry smoothies (the best I've ever had), and strawberry nachos.  Other's strawberry menu items include strawberry popcorn, strawberry funnel cakes, strawberry crepes, deep fried strawberries (these weren't very good), strawberry shortcake, taquitos with guacamole and strawberries, and of course your regular festival foods deep fried and grilled.  I want to say that my biggest joy of this event was having the chance to pig out but there was so much more to see and do.  There was shopping, story time for kids, arts and crafts, interactive booths to learn about being green, food and cooking contests and demonstrations, concerts, bungee jumping, free carnival rides and more.  They also have strawberries for sale and you can buy as many as you can carry home.  My daughter, my little sister and I decided to dress in the theme for the day in our newest Strawberry Shortcake dud's.  My daughter even had two Strawberry Shortcake outfits to change into throughout the day along with her Strawberry Shortcake socks and Strawberry Shortcake light up tennis shoes.  We were hoping we would have a chance to take a picture in our outfits with Strawberry Shortcake herself who always makes an appearance at the festival every year, but unfortunately she was not there this time.  Oh well, now try explaining that to a two year old obsessed with her, yikes!

After we were full to the brim with strawberries we decided to go to a concert from none other than guess who.....Moonwalker: The Micheal Jackson Experience.  Yep another impersonator although this one has his own live band instead of background tracks played over the sound system.  He still did not compare to the one we saw the day before at the San Bernardino Fair.  This guy looked a little more like Micheal, his dancing was okay but his vocals were awful he didn't sound anything like MJ and he was straining his voice.  Although, the crowd did seem to love him and what a crowd it was.  I'm not sure exactly how many people were there but I can tell you it was super duper crowded with barely any standing room. The strawberry council estimates that 1.5 million strawberries were consumed at the event.  The entire festival is only two days long, can you imagine what it would be like if it were extended to a whole week!

Farewell Strawberry Festival but thanks for the doggie bag or should I say box

Mr & Miss Southern California USA Pageant

This week I had the opportunity to be a judge at the Mr and Miss Southern California USA Pageant by California Pageant Productions.  This pageant is open to boys and girls ages 2 to 25 anywhere in California.  This non USA affiliated pageant is in no way your typical "beauty" pageant.  The contestants compete in interview, onstage intro, sportswear, evening gown and in case of a tie, on stage question.  The queens, kings and their court are not judged on who is the most beautiful or who models the best, but a big chunk of scoring takes into consideration their commitment to community service and their willingness to work.  The winners and their courts spend the next year completing well over 100 hours of community service.  Although they do attend parades and pageants as visiting royalty like most pageant royalty do, they also have to work hard through out the year promoting their own platforms and charities, as well as the charities that the pageant supports.  Every year the pageant takes their royalty to work at the Summer Special Olympics, the Alzheimer's Walk, CHOC Hospital Walk, Relay for Life, Orange County Food Bank, and they adopt families at Christmas time from the Los Angeles County department of Social Services. The pageant division for ages 2 to 5 is specifically a fundraiser just for CHOC hospital which receives a $100 donation from each contestant in that division.  So these ladies and gentlemen not only serve as ambassadors for their community but they get down and dirty packing food boxes, staying up around the clock 24 hours for the relay for life and doing whatever other activities not always typical of "beauty" queens. 

Once again I must say I was impressed by the caliber of contestants at the pageant and one in particular stands out for me (by the way she is the newly crowned miss division queen). She told the judges in interview that she planned to donate half of her scholarship money that she hopes to earn from the pageant right back to her organization of choice which for a mere $250 can perform surgery to fix a cleft palate on a child in a 3rd world country.  Once again another young woman has defied the negative stereotypes that the media loves to breed around the world of pageantry.  I wish more young women who share the same warmth and compassion for giving back would have opportunities to share their story's with a larger audience, to help demystify some of the images the public likes buy into (especially when we just saw a story on the news recently of an 8 year old being given botox for the sake of a pageant).  I can speak from personal experience, not every pageant mom is crazy and not every young woman is obsessed with changing her body in an attempt to be perfect to win a crown.  Some of us out there really like to help others and see pageantry as a way to do that more effectively by giving us a larger audience to be a role model for and by giving us other opportunities that we might not get as just a "regular person".  I can't tell you how many times I have stopped to talk to a young girl, give her a compliment, or advice or help her with her hair/makeup/modeling and through my small actions just like that my words have inspired life long confidence and goal setting to grow.  I have even had women my own age and older stop me and tell me that they look up to me and that I inspired them to do something in their life.  The truth is I don't do anything out of the ordinary to or for these folks that I wouldn't do for anyone else, but pageantry has put me in a position to come into contact with them and that is what counts.  Every time you step outside with a crown and banner on someone will notice you, now what do you want them to notice you for?

Two Pageants in a Row

It was a typical busy pageant day for Ms Earth the day before mother's day.  I managed to squeeze in two pageants in one day.  I started out in Ontario at the California Kisses pageant where I was not only a judge and the tabulator but my Daughter was royalty and helped out at crowning.  At 2 years old she is becoming a pro at giving out awards because she has worked at so many pageants with mommy.  This was a free pageant, no one paid entry or sponsors fee's to compete.  California Kisses is Semi-Glitz and gave away toys, candy, beautiful crowns and gift cards to their winners.  Helping out judging was Tiffany Knight Miss Orange County US International and the MC was Jessica Aguirre California Hi Point Champion for Dream Girls U.S.A.  Congrats to all the contestants and royalty, you all did a great job!

My next stop was back home in San Bernardino at the Mr Cardinal City Pageant.  When I decided to go to this pageant I had no clue what I was in store for and had never heard of this pageant before.  Well it turns out that this pageant is for the students at San Bernardino High School.  There is a pageant for the boys and the girls and this just happened to be the night for the young men.  The winner and his court represent their high school as the face of San Bernardino High.  They also represent the city at various events and do community service, while serving as role models.  The winners even now receive a cash scholarship.  Well let me tell you that this is the first time I have been to pageant of this kind ever (all men only) and I was very impressed.  Being that I work as a juvenile probation officer I come into contact with many young men on the opposite side of the "achievement" spectrum so it is a pleasure to see so many with very respectable goals and aspirations, with the GPA's to back them up.  The guys competed on stage in sportswear (bravo to the contestant that wore his marching band uniform, it is very much a sport in my book), formal wear and onstage question.  Also their activities, accomplishments and GPA's were highlighted as well.  There was also a ton of pageant queens and kings in attendance.

My favorite contestant was 1st runner-up Pierre Morris.  He wore a football uniform for sportswear, wants to be a surgeon and has a 4.4 GPA.  He blew me away with his onstage question answer where he discussed his career ambitions and opening a pro bono medical clinic so he can provide medical services for those who cant afford to pay for them, and how the less fortunate are people too and they have needs.  But ultimately the title went to Gustavo Alvarez who was asked about president Obama and how he is doing with his presidency. Gus went on to discuss several relevant issues including immigration.  WOW  I forgot for a minute that these guys are just teenagers. 

I think the best part of the evening was the opening number.  These guys practiced everyday at school for 12 weeks and they looked great on stage with their men in black routine. I think they did a better job than I have seen some of the ladies do at pageants past. They even entered the theater from the back with some handing out flowers and some fake money to all the ladies.  It was a riot and all the young ladies in the room were screaming as if they were pre-teen's at a Justin Bieber concert.

My hat is definitely off to you Jamie Rios not only for putting on a great pageant but also for all you do with the young men.  I know what pageants can do for young girls to boost their self esteem, poise, goals, careers and more and I saw this difference at your pageant.  Some of the young men beamed with pride and confidence and were excited about doing community service.  With all the hard work that goes into putting on a pageant and being able to achieve all of these things with young men is not easy but I saw it first hand!  Congratulations!

With Mercedes Harvey Miss California Teen Achieve

Here we are with Dar'rell Jones he was 1st runner-up to Mr Cardinal 2010

There was so many visiting royalty that we couldn't all fit on the picture so here I am in part 1

Here is part 2 and my favorite Pierre is standing in the center

Who is Lana Henry - My Bio

Who is Lana Henry besides just being Ms Earth 2011?  Well I decided to post my bio so that you can learn a little bit more about me and my life, so enjoy!

Lana Henry is a resident of the city of San Bernardino.  This former model has been involved in pageantry for over 20 years.  She has held several titles locally, nationally and internationally and a few of her titles include: Miss California Teen of the Nation, Miss Chino, Miss Upland, Miss California Coed, Miss West Coast, Miss International Beauty, Ms American Rose, International Cinderella Woman, World’s Universal Girl, Ms Route 66, Royal Essence Grand Supreme, Gold Coast Elegant Lady, Ms American Coed Woman and Ms Earth 2011. Lana has experience and titles in various types of pageant systems including Glitz, Natural, Talent, Scholarship, MAO, and USA.  Competing extensively all over the United States and Mexico, she has even had the honor of representing our country at the Miss International Pageant in Tokyo, Japan.  Being named one of the top 10 women in Pageantry for the year 2003 by a top media source in Asia, is just a small piece of her successful pageant career.

Lana is a professional entertainer and a classically trained singer, who sings in 6 different languages, performing regularly at various events and functions around the country.  Holding advanced degrees in performing arts, political science with a pre law concentration, and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership, Lana works as a Los Angeles County Juvenile Deputy Probation Officer (13 years) and teaches in the criminal justice department at the University of Phoenix.  Lana’s has dedicated her life to empowering juvenile delinquents and developing gender specific programming for young female offenders.  As a much sought after performer, speaker, and educator, she stays active in California and other states around the country providing a countless number of hours to the youth of our communities. 

With a passion for service and leadership and desiring to utilize all of her talents, Lana runs her own business.  Pageant Style Productions specializing in event planning and preparing pageant hopefuls for upcoming competitions. Lana personally believes in the power of pageantry and works with young girls and women encouraging their participation in pageantry and community service.  On top of all these activities Lana is also a busy single mother to a 2 year old daughter named Bianca who also compete's in pageants.

Miss California Teenager 2011 Pageant

This weekend I went into Pageant coach mode as my 13 year old cousin competed in her 1st Pageant Miss California Teenager.  There was 160 girls vying for this title and the queen wins a $10,000 scholarship (wow), while the top 10 also receive substantial scholarship awards.  The competition is based on evening gown, onstage speech and onstage question and is open to girls from the ages of 13 to 19.  This pageant has been around many years and unfortunately I didn't find out about it until I was 20 years old so I missed the boat at taking a crack at the title back in my Miss American Coed days (by the way for you pageant junkies, the top 5 girls that placed this year have competed at NAM & ACP). I am very proud of my cousin Zya Houston who did a great job at her first competition ever!  She represented the City of Los Angeles very well!  Not only did I help Zya and her roommate with their speeches but I did their make-up for finals too (of course I had to take it easy and not go overboard because they are still middle schoolers).

The outgoing gorgeous queen Mary-Kate FitzPatrick told the audience about her fantastic year as queen.  She even did her first commercial for a cosmetics company from the bay area during her reign.  I have seen it happen time and time again, once you capture the title so many doors open up for you.  In my 20+ years of pageantry I have seen titleholders come back with modeling contracts, regular series roles on TV, recording contracts, and even husbands to be.  And I am sure you will see Mary-Kate out there in the modeling world in the future.  Not only is she beautiful on the outside but the inside as well and she has an inspiring story about her determination to win the pageant and her great stride to losing weight to do so!  Bravo to Mary-Kate and the Miss Teenage California Pageant for a job well done!

Grilled Cheese Invitational

OMG! I have fallen in Love with CHEESE! Who knew there were so many ways to make a grill cheese sandwich?  What an adventure my daughter and I had at the Grill Cheese Invitational where we had a chance to stuff ourselves silly with cheese! Now out of the over 200 competitors unfortunately I didn't get to taste as many as I wanted as a registered member of the judging society but we did have our fair share along with all of the other free food goodies and food trucks you could sample from.  But it sure would have been nice to be an executive judge so I could have attempted to taste all 200+ hundred sandwiches.  The best ones were by far in the Honey Pot category, this was the desert category. Now if you are wondering how in the world do you put cheese in a desert and make it taste good well remember there are many different kinds of cheese out there in the world and not just your cheddar varieties.  In this category cheeses like mascarpone, marzipan, brie, goat cheese, cream cheese and the like were used.  I must say in addition to getting my fill of cheese this day I was educated and entertained and this cheesyful event that was packed to the brim with cheese lovers.  They had a really cool marching band called march forth with stilt walkers that performed and I only have one word to describe them, AWESOME! There was also a neat poetry contest all about cheese and an outrageous costume contest where Jesus Christ was the winner (the day before Easter how ironic). I think the only thing this event is missing is the little miss and mister grill cheese pageant.  Hummm, have I found a new calling??????????

The Photo of the Day

lol, Bianca is modeling her cheese sample (I love cheese too mommy, see "cheese") she ate about 10 of them

Earth Day 2011

April 22nd is Earth Day which was created back in the 1970's to inspire awareness and appreciation for our planet Earth and is celebrated in more than 175 countries around the world.  It is is no secret that our environment is facing a global crisis after many years of abuse and miseducation and Earth Day is the one day we as human beings around the world dedicate to doing something about it. This day of action results in many consumer campaigns to be green and tree planting but protecting our planet takes much more than that.  This year Earth Day happened to fall on gloomy day which kept most folks at home or indoors but a few did show up the Earth Day Celebration at the Promenade on the Peninsula Mall in Rancho Palos Verdes sponsored by Hier Children's Clothing store.  This was an opportunity for the kids not only to meet Ms Earth and partake of a few yummy party snacks but also to learn about the environment and plant and decorate their own pot of flowers.  There are so many simple ways that we can all be more friendly to our environment and adapt to the changes that will inevitably come about if we open our minds and put forth a little effort.  Whether its water conservation, working with an organization to preserve wildlife, recycling (not just the regular stuff like bottles but just about everything can be recycled), or encouraging your organization to become "paperless", we can all do something to preserve the environment and its raw materials and natural resources. Back in 19** (yes I did that on purpose) I was the lone recipient of a special earth day award from my school Magnolia Jr High for my recycling efforts.  I have been a proponent of recycling for as long as I can remember.  So the next time you get ready to throw something away think about this:

• Junk mail is paper and can be recycled along with phonebooks and other paper products 
• Old clothes/furniture/shoes can go to goodwill and the salvation army
• Old jewelry can be sold at cash for gold locations that are popping up everywhere
• Personal/beauty products that you may no longer want can be donated to women's shelters
• Food garbage can be composted so it doesn't contribute to the 40% of landfill space it takes up and methane gas it produces, this way it will convert back into rich soil which is great for planting in your garden
• Old cars can be donated to charity or sold to car yards that can salvage the parts for others before recycling the metal

And these are just a few of the wonderful ways we can reduce and reuse and I know there are plenty more.  Do you have any other great ideas on how to help out planet, If so email them to me at: LHenry3198@aol.com