Eastern Shore's Dogwood Trail Pageant set for Jan. 18

GCM Staff Report
Posted 1/13/25

The 65th-annual Dogwood Trail Pageant and Scholarship Program, sponsored by the Eastern Shore Optimist Club, will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Fairhope Civic Center.

Forty-five …

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Eastern Shore's Dogwood Trail Pageant set for Jan. 18

Posted

The 65th-annual Dogwood Trail Pageant and Scholarship Program, sponsored by the Eastern Shore Optimist Club, will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at the Fairhope Civic Center.

Forty-five participants will vie for one of eight 2025 Dogwood Trail Court positions.

This year's pageant theme is "Dogwood: It's A Girl Thing." The show will celebrate the unique spirit a Dogwood Trail Court Member must possess — a spirit of challenging herself, demonstrating optimism and setting her sights on success; plus, all the fun things that make being a girl so exceptional.

Over the years, the program has provided goodwill ambassadors for our community and given hundreds of young women the opportunity to enhance their leadership and public speaking skills.

"We believe it is important for young women of today to embrace their potential," Executive Program Director JoAnn Broadus said. "This program enables participants to grow and realize the strength and skills they all have within them. We celebrate 65 years of service and opportunities to elevate these young leaders in our community."

Pageant participants must be high school female sophomores or juniors living or attending school on the Eastern Shore with a 2.8 or higher grade point average.

Participants will be awarded scores for their performance in four categories: essay; interview; creative introduction; and presence and composure. The 14 participants with the highest composite scores will be asked an impromptu question. The eight with the highest overall scores will serve on the 2025 Dogwood Trail Court. Each will receive a $1,500 college scholarship from the Eastern Shore Optimist Club and a costume that represents our community's floral heritage to be worn during official appearances.

The 2025 Dogwood Patrons include the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival Foundation, Chick-fil-A restaurants of Mobile and Baldwin County and Urgent Care by the Bay.

The 2025 Court's first official appearance will be at the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday, March 15. Court members serve a one-year term as goodwill ambassadors for the Eastern Shore. They will complete approximately 200 hours of community service through appearances at city, county and state events, parades and festivals.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased from any pageant participant or by contacting the Dogwood Trail Committee. Tickets sell out fast.

Programs will be available for purchase during the pageant. Power Productions will live-stream the pageant. The link will be posted on the official Dogwood Trail Facebook and Instagram pages.

For more information about the pageant and sponsorship opportunities, email the Dogwood Trail Committee at thedogwoodtrail@gmail.com.