Miss Labor Day to be crowned in Canton

Colleen Casey, The Mountaineer, Waynesville, N.C.
·2 min read

Aug. 9—CANTON — Pisgah High School senior girls compete to shine and win scholarships for college through the Miss Labor Day Pageant.

This year's eight contestants are Sierra Early, Haley Lopez, Aireal McElreath, Essalina Curlee, Annika McElreath, Cadence Rollins, Alexis Messer and Asjaya Sutton.

Laura Simmons, vice president of the Canton Educational Foundation, said the pageant has been part of the Canton Labor Day celebration for well over 150 years.

"We are excited to be hosting the pageant again this year," Simmons said. "We have not had the pageant due to the pandemic since 2019 and the flood in 2021 displaced us from our location at the Colonial Theater. This is very exciting for us since this is part of our town's Labor Day traditions and celebrations."

Simmons outlined the four areas that will be used in determining the contest winner.

"The contestants are judged on four categories: personal interview, on stage question, presentation of their influential person and a segment where each contestant has chosen a woman from a preassigned decade to represent and do a short presentation on," Simmons said.

The presentation segment is called Strolling Through the Decades, she added.

Simmons explained that contestants have participated in a workshop this summer and a tea hosted by the Grateful Table in Canton.

The winner and first and second runner ups will receive scholarships for college, with the winner getting $1,500, first runner up $1,000 and second runner up $500.

"The board and myself believe that the Miss Labor Day contestants and their families represent the very best of our community," said Mayor Zeb Smathers. "These strong women leaders provide us inspiration and a sincere hope for the future of Haywood County. We are also very appreciative of the tremendous work the education committee does behind the scenes putting the celebration together."

Admissions to the pageant and the Canton Christmas Tour of homes help fund the pageant and the scholarships.

Eddie Foxx from KISS Country will emcee the event and Johnson Street Music will provide the entertainment between segments of the pageant.

The Miss Labor Day pageant will be 7 p.m., Aug. 20 in the Pisgah High School Auditorium.

Tickets for this event are $10 each and children 6 and under will be admitted free.

The pageant is sponsored by The Canton Educational Foundation, The Cruso Endowment, Moss Sign Company, Sheppard Insurance Group, Willow Hill Soap Company, Henson's Construction, Holly Fletcher-Remax, Smoky Mountain Eye Care and Clyde Florist.

Labor Day

Other town festivities that Canton celebrates during Labor Day weekend will be the 114th Canton Labor Day Festival on Sept. 4 — 5. Diamond Rio will headline this year's event that will include the Ultimate Air Dog show, a food truck row, a classic car show, a free splash zone and more. Tickets for the festival must be purchased ahead of time at cantonlaborday.com.