HOLYOKE – "Miss Polonia Massachusetts 2011" – an annual pageant of beauty, music and Polish culture, whose purpose is to choose an exemplary young woman of Polish extraction to represent Massachusetts in the national Miss Polonia competition – will take place Aug. 22 at 5 p.m. at Pilsudski Park in Holyoke.
Admission to the pageant is $10.
Two masters of ceremony will narrate, one in English and the other in Polish.
The pageant will include five contestants aged 18 to 25 from towns throughout Massachusetts, including Boston, Westfield and Webster, according to spokeswoman Irena Gadecki of Chicopee.
The young women will first appear on stage in casual dress to introduce themselves to the audience and talk about their plans for the future. Then each woman, accompanied by a male escort, will model a gown for the "glamour" segment. Finally, she will appear in a bathing suit, with a sarong or a cover-up if she so chooses.
Between segments, there will be live music by Jesse Wroszek, who will also perform when everyone joins in dancing at the end of the competition.
The winner of the Massachusetts competition will receive a round-trip ticket to Poland, $1,000, jewelry and other prizes.
IF YOU GO
- What:
- Aug. 22, 5 p.m.
- Where:
- $10
Other awards will be given out in such categories as “most personality” and “most photogenic.”
The winner of the state pageant will be crowned by Miss Polonia Massachusetts 2010, Elizabeth Dobrksa of Holyoke.
The pageant is organized by Polish National Alliance Lodge 525 and the Polish American Congress of Western Massachusetts.
Media sponsor is Bialy Orzel, the Boston-based Polish language newspaper. Bernalt Deli in Chicopee contributes the airline trip to Poland.