One first pageant, start to finish.
Larkspur Valley is a made-up town, and this is a made-up first pageant with 15 contestants, run the Open Source Pageants way. Every number is an example, not an average: swap in your own. It shows how the pieces of the method fit together.
A longtime pageant parent decided to run a small Saturday pageant in the spring, in the high school auditorium.
Five wide divisions, 15 contestants. Four divisions had three or more. Miss had two, and merging it with Teen would have spanned more than four years, so it ran on its own.
| Division | Ages | Contestants | Titles crowned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny | 0–4 | 3 | Winner and two runners-up |
| Little | 5–8 | 4 | Winner and two runners-up |
| Junior | 9–12 | 3 | Winner and two runners-up |
| Teen | 13–17 | 3 | Winner and two runners-up |
| Miss | 18 and up | 2 | Winner and first runner-up |
Every contestant also went home with a keepsake medal and their own scores.
Entry fees alone fell $132 short. The extras, sponsors and People's Choice covered that and left $978, with the charity's share paid separately.
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Entry fees: 15 × $50 | $750 |
| Photogenic: 7 × $10 | $70 |
| Outfit of Choice: 5 × $15 | $75 |
| Supreme: 6 × $25 | $150 |
| People's Choice: $1,000 donated, less the platform's 10% ($900), less the food pantry's 25% ($225) | $675 |
| Two division sponsors at $50 | $100 |
| Four program-book ads at $25 | $100 |
| Total | $1,920 |
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Venue: donation to the drama club | $150 |
| One-day event insurance | $100 |
| Five division crowns ($15) and nine runner-up trophies ($8) | $147 |
| Printing: program, scoresheets, signs | $60 |
| Decorations and backdrop | $80 |
| Judges: lunch and a thank-you gift, 3 × $30 | $90 |
| Emcee thank-you gift | $30 |
| Fixed costs | $657 |
| Per contestant: sash $8, medal $4, payment fees about $3, × 15 | $225 |
| Extra awards: Supreme crown, Photogenic and Outfit of Choice trophies, People's Choice crown | $60 |
| Total | $942 |
Break-even on entries alone: $657 ÷ ($50 − $15) = 18.8, so 19 contestants. Left over: $1,920 − $942 = $978. The director set aside $200 as a reserve for the next pageant and paid the food pantry its $225 the week after, with a receipt.
Seventeen people, most of them friends and pageant parents, each named in advance.
| Role | How many | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Director | 1 | Runs the day; alternate safeguarding contact |
| Tabulator | 1 | A friend who's good with spreadsheets; never a judge |
| Emcee | 1 | A local radio host |
| Judges | 3 + 1 alternate | A former titleholder from the next county, a dance teacher, a bank manager; the alternate is a retired teacher |
| Check-in | 2 | The check-in lead is the safeguarding contact |
| Dressing areas | 4 | Two adults in each of two rooms |
| Interview room | 1 | The second adult in every interview |
| Backstage lineup | 1 | Gets each contestant to the stage on time |
| Music and sound | 1 | All music on one device, a backup on another |
| Photographer | 1 | A local photographer who shares in photo sales |
The youngest went first and were crowned before lunch. Everyone was out by 3:00.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 8:30 | Team arrives: stage, sound, check-in table, dressing areas |
| 9:15 | Judges arrive; 15-minute briefing with a practice score |
| 9:30 | Check-in opens; first-timers get a walk across the stage |
| 10:00 | Opening: every contestant introduced by name |
| 10:15 | Tiny and Little: on-stage introduction and fun fashion |
| 10:45 | Tiny and Little: formal wear |
| 11:05 | Tiny and Little crowning |
| 11:20 | Junior, Teen and Miss interviews: 8 contestants, 5 minutes each, with a second adult in the room |
| 12:10 | Lunch |
| 12:50 | Junior, Teen and Miss: fun fashion |
| 1:20 | Junior, Teen and Miss: formal wear |
| 1:50 | Tabulation break: thank the sponsors, announce the food pantry total |
| 2:05 | Crowning: Junior, Teen and Miss, then Photogenic, Outfit of Choice, People's Choice and Supreme |
| 2:30 | Photos; done by 3:00 |
One judge knew a Junior contestant's family from church, said so before the day, and stepped aside from scoring that contestant. The tabulator used the average of the other two judges' scores in each area.
The week after, the director sent every family their scores, thanked everyone, and spent half an hour on the health check.
Three things to do better next time: open check-in at 9:00, ask for program-book photos at registration instead of later, and start promoting a week earlier.
Help wantedDoes this match your first pageant? Tell us what's unrealistic: costs, timings, or anything that would have gone differently for you.