Girls in Idaho Falls will compete for the crown

The pageant industry in the U.S. rakes in billions of dollars.

From the pricy gowns to the sparkling jewels, contestants often spend a lot for the chance to win a crown.

In just five days, around one dozen girls will make their way to Idaho Falls to compete in the Miss Idaho Falls Scholarship Pageant.

We’ve seen them on television, looking flawless, and waiting for that crowning moment.

HannahSarah Davis and Shaneka Bono are two self-proclaimed “pageant girls” who love competing; but they said pageant beauty is more than skin deep.

“It’s not just putting on make-up and wearing gorgeous gowns,” said Davis. “It’s about going out into your community and giving back to people and it’s all worth it in the end.”

The girls say presentation and appearance are part of pageant life but but an even larger part is community service.

Every pageant contestant is required to have a community service project, which they call “platforms.”

“My platform is Special Olympics,” said Bono. “My aunt is blind and she’s from a little island called Saint Vincent in the Grenadines, which is where my mom is from too. My mom would take my aunt to Special Olympics events and that was inspiring to me.”

“My platform is Go Confidently: Giving Women Confidence They Can Carry,” said Davis. “It’s simply just getting purses together and putting essential items in them and I deliver them to women’s shelters throughout Idaho Falls and eastern Idaho.”

The girls said if at the end of the day, they walk away without a crown, they’ll still have each other and their community service projects.

The Miss Idaho Falls Scholarship Pageant is Thursday, Aug. 1st at the Civic Auditorium.

The winner will go on to compete for the title of Miss Idaho and whoever wins that will then move on to the Miss America pageant next year.