The competition for Miss America 2015 has already begun in Atlantic City, NJ with the first two preliminary awards being handed out to two ladies.
Miss Ohio Mackenzie Bart received the preliminary talent award for an impressive ventriloquism duet of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" alongside her puppet who "assisted" her during the performance, allowing the 22-year-old beauty to pull in $2,000 for scholarship. Bart had been the only contestant who was set to put forward a ventriloquism performance in the competition.
The second award was given to Miss Florida Victoria Cowen and was named the Lifestyle and Fitness winner for the night. The 21-year-old was given a $1,000 scholarship.
Before the preliminary competition ended, Miss Rhode Island Ivy DePew fainted onstage due to heatstroke during the scholarship awarding of Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Prior to being taken to the hospital, the Brown University graduate appeared to regain consciousness, as reported by NJ.com.
All of the 53 contestants arrived last Wednesday to kick off their two-week competition for glamour and pageantry. This week, three preliminary rounds are being expected to be carried out at Boardwalk Hall. Such phases will be comprised of production numbers, feedback from the hosts, and judging in various categories.
Aside from the Talent as well as Lifestyle and Fitness criteria, the contestants should be working on their Evening Wear and On-Stage Question. In the final round, the ladies can expect to see VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk, "Desperate Housewives" producer Marc Cherr, supermodel Kathy Ireland, Miss America of 1955 Lee Meriwether, Brig. Gen. Anne Macdonald, and previous winners of "Dancing With the Stars", Shawn Johnson and Donald Driver.
The "Show Us Your Shoes Parade" segment for the competition has been slotted for Sept. 13 that will include the traditional marching bands and floats by the sea.
The final round of Miss America 2015 will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. on Sept. 14.
