Little Miss and Junior Miss Sea Isle City crowned

Written by Staff Reports Wednesday, July 18, 2012 03:52 pm

Shown on July 11 with Miss Cape May County Outstanding Teen Madison Kennelly (far left) and Miss Cape May County Jennifer Taylor (far right) are the winners of the 2012 Little Miss & Jr. Miss Sea Isle City Pageant: (from left) Little Miss 2nd Princess Grace Caspar, 8, of Williamstown, NJ; Little Miss 1st Princess Julia Delaney, 7, of Williamstown, NJ; 2012 Little Miss Queen Vienna Valdez, 7, of Bellmawr, NJ; 2012 Jr. Miss Queen Flynn Krankowski, 12, of Lumberton, NJ; Jr. Miss 1st Princess Noelle Mink, 9, of Garnet Valley, PA; and Jr. Miss 2nd Princess Deanna Balsama, 12, of Sewell, NJ. Also shown is Mayor Leonard Desiderio, who had the honor of presenting each winner with her trophy.

SEA ISLE CITY – Shoes were polished and smiles were sparkling during the 2012 Little Miss & Jr. Miss Sea Isle City Pageant on July 11.

During the pageant, which was hosted by the city's tourism department, 37 charming contestants competed for tiaras, trophies and a variety of other prizes inside the Saint Joseph Church Auditorium. The annual event is open to year-round and summer residents of the resort, students from Bishop McHugh Regional School in Clermont, and residents of several campgrounds immediately adjacent to Sea Isle City. Pageant contestants are grouped into two divisions: Little Miss (ages 5 to 8) and Jr. Miss (age 9 to 12).
After each girl was introduced, the contestants participated in a question-and-answer segment and a pair of patriotic dance routines. Adding to the event was Miss Cape May County Outstanding Teen Madison Kennelly, who danced to a country-western song, and Sarina Marone, of Vineland, who performed Bonjour Monsieur Rameau on her harp. Miss Cape May County Jennifer Taylor also made an appearance during the pageant and offered words of encouragement to the contestants from the podium.
After Judges Joyce Cohen, Bill Geiger and Gabrielle Wagner made their final decisions, Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio stepped on-stage to announce the names of the this year’s winners.
The 2012 Little Miss Sea Isle City Queen is Vienna Valdez, 7, of Bellmawr. Valdez’s court consists of Little Miss 1st Princess Julia Delaney, 7, of Williamstown, and Little Miss 2nd Princess Grace Caspar, 8, also of Williamstown.
This year’s Jr. Miss Sea Isle City Queen is Queen Flynn Krankowski, 12, of Lumberton, who shared the spotlight with Jr. Miss 1st Princess Noelle Mink, 9, of Garnet Valley, Pa., and Jr. Miss 2nd Princess Deanna Balsama, 12, of Sewell.
In addition to tiaras for the Little Miss and Jr. Miss Sea Isle City winners, each queen and her court also received trophies and bouquets of flowers. Additionally, every contestant in the pageant received a gift bag, donated by Colleen Falcone, owner of Groovy Girlz Accessories and It's a Girlz Thing Boutique; and each audience member received a free bag of candy as they left the auditorium, courtesy of Marilyn Tracey, owner of James' Candy Shop on JFK Boulevard.
Each of this year’s Little Miss and Jr. Miss Sea Isle City Pageant contestants appeared in Sea Isle’s annual baby parade on Wednesday. The 2012 Little Miss and Jr. Miss will also appear at special events throughout the coming year.
To learn about activities and events taking place in Sea Isle City, visit www.seaislecitynj.us or call 263-TOUR.

2012 Little Miss Sea Isle City Queen Vienna Valdez, 7, of Bellmawr, is shown responding to questions from the judges during this year’s Little Miss and Jr. Miss Sea Isle City Pageant. Shown looking on is Miss Cape May County Jennifer Taylor (right) and Miss Cape May County Outstanding Teen Madison Kennelly.

Noelle Mink, 9 of Garnet Valley, Pa., is shown during the question-and-answer segment. Though she did not win the title of 2012 Jr. Miss, Mink walked home with the “1st Princess” runner-up award.

Brooke Miller, 10, of Franklinville, was one of 15 contestants who competed for the 2012 Jr. Miss Sea Isle City crown.