GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – The Miss Butte County Scholarship Program competition will once again open the first day of the Butte County Fair as the main event.

Ten young ladies will be vying for the crown in three separate categories: Missette Butte County for ladies in grades 3rd -6th; Miss Teen Butte County for ladies in grades 7th - 10th, and Miss Butte County for ladies in grades 11th, 12th and up to age 20 (must remain 20 years old throughout their year of service).

Program Director, Alyssa Tomlinson explains some of the changes to the program this year include an upgrade to the interview times for each division. Most of the judging happens before the contest itself, with interviews occurring prior to the competition and for Miss Teen and Miss Butte County, their community service and school requirements are scored ahead of time. In previous years that would include any service or academic successes that had occurred over the past two years, but due to COVID, the scholarship program has extended that window to the last 4 years.

Besides the interview portion, Miss Teen and Miss Butte County contestants are required to do a personal introduction speech on stage and Tomlinson has also brought back an impromptu question that the ladies will answer in front of the audience and judges, finalizing the scoring process.

This year, viewers can expect another new change – a homage to past. Since the fair’s conception, it has been known as both the Butte County Fair and the Golden Feather Fair.

Historically, the title we now know as Miss Butte County was at one point, Miss Golden Feather. According to Tomlinson, that name of the competition changed to Miss Butte County in 1965 after the last Miss Golden Feather was crowned. For the year 2022, within the Miss Butte County division, the 1st runner-up position will now be known as Ms. Golden Feather.

In regard to the 2022 Miss Butte County Scholarship Program Competition Tomlinson says, “I would have to say that we have a lot more variety of girls that are coming from all across the county this year versus last.” She adds, “In the Missette category alone, I have one Gridley, one Oroville and one Chico (contestant) and we’ve never had anything like that.”

Tomlinson somewhat credits this to the additional community service opportunities and events that the 2021 Royal Court attended throughout Butte County, which was somewhere in the ballpark of 50 events in contrast to an average of about 30 in previous years.

The Miss Butte County Scholarship Program competition kicks off the main events at the Butte County Fair on Thursday, August 25th at 6:00 pm on the Courtyard Stage. Come out and show your support for last year’s Royal Court and witness the crowning of 2022’s Queens.