Kennewick woman crowned queen in special pageant
A Kennewick woman took home a crown and title during the second annual Washington Shining Star Pageant for differently-abled girls and women.
Sarah Hamson, 24, of Kennewick, was queen in the women’s division.
Five girls and young women earned top honors and 32 participated.
The pageant for differently-abled girls ages 5 to 25 was Saturday in Prosser. Twice as many participated in this year’s pageant compared with last year’s.
Each participant received flowers, a crown, a shirt, a trophy and a pageant keychain made by students at Prosser High School.
“The only difference between the queens and all the princesses is a little bit bigger crown and the queens had a sash,” said pageant founder Rene Martinez in a news release.
She started the event after her daughter Sofia, 14, who has special needs, asked why there wasn’t a pageant for girls like her.
The pageant took place in two parts, Martinez said.
“Girls modeled their pajama outfits and introduced themselves. Then with the help of pageant buddies, they changed into formal dresses and came back on stage to answer a question,” Martinez said in a release.
Participants also collected donations of PJs to be given to Ronald McDonald House as a community service project. Martinez said they collected 632 pairs of pajamas. Participants who collected the most pajamas in each age group were honored with community service awards.
Roni Smith of Benton City won one of them in the senior age division as she collected 114 pajamas.
Others crowned during the pageant were Angelina Thomas Larson, 13, of Union Gap, who earned the title of queen of the junior division, and Carlee Ritch, 18, of Yakima, who was named queen in the senior division.
Alianette Damian, 9, of Yakima, was named the elementary age division queen, and Gisselle Garcia, 5, of Toppenish, was the early elementary queen.
This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Kennewick woman crowned queen in special pageant."