Pageant contestants vie for crown tonight

All of the contestants are between 17 and 24 years old.
NAZARETH, Pa. (AP) -- Twenty-four women are competing for a $6,000 college scholarship and a sparkling rhinestone crown in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant.
Preliminary interview, talent, swim wear and evening gown competitions began Thursday. The finals are tonight at Nazareth Area High School.
Miss Berks County Megan Robinson, of Penndel, couldn't wait to slip on her tap shoes and dance for an audience.
"After high school, you don't have many opportunities to perform, so the talent portion of the competition allows me to express myself," said Robinson, 21, a senior at Kutztown University.
Hopefuls -- all between the ages of 17 and 24 -- must also select community service platforms.
Half the contestants also participated last year.
"Contestants talk about how the interview process prepared them for job interviews as well as college interviews," said Marlene Wynne, executive director of the pageant.
Rewards
The winner will travel throughout Pennsylvania during her one-year reign promoting her platform, and will represent the state at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., in September.
Five Pennsylvania women have won the Miss America title since the state pageant began in 1927. Former Miss Pennsylvania Susan Spafford, of Erie, was second runner-up in the 1999 Miss America pageant.
Candace Mari Otto of Murrysville, Pa., won the 2003 Miss Pennsylvania crown.
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