DECATUR — Two of the most iconic events associated with the Decatur Barbecue are the Tiny Tots and Miss Decatur Barbecue contests. The crowns and sashes will soon be passed on to new recipients during the 63rd Annual Decatur Barbecue on Saturday, Aug. 6, at Veterans Park in Decatur.
Since its conception in 1953, many Miss Decatur Barbecue contest winners have become civic and business leaders throughout the United States. A notable Miss Decatur Barbecue was Melonie McGarrah, who won the title in 1996. McGarrah went on to win the Miss Arkansas Pageant, which qualified her for the Miss America Pageant, where she finished in the top 10.
In the early years of the Miss Decatur Barbecue contest, cities from across Arkansas would pick a representative to compete. Carolyn Croft (1957), Ginger McFarland (1958) and Virginia MacDonald (1959) were all from Springdale. Judy Eoff (1956) and Janet Montgomery (1954) were from other towns in northwest Arkansas. Of the 62 years of the Miss Decatur Barbecue contest, only six girls from Decatur have won the title. Kelsey McClain Painter and Leslie Lentz were two of those six girls.
Painter has been the director of the Miss Decatur Barbecue contest for the past several years. Painter put a lot of volunteer hours into working the logistics of this pageant. She and co-director Leslie Lentz (Painter's sister) spend countless hours looking for sponsors and judges, reviewing applications and running the Friday night rehearsals at Veterans Park in Decatur. All that hard work translates into a very successful contest on pageant night.
The first chance to see the 2016 contestants and the reigning Miss Decatur Barbecue, Micayla Hendricks, will be during the parade through downtown Decatur which takes place at 11 a.m. on Aug. 6.
Hendricks will crown the new Miss Decatur Barbecue at 7:30 p.m. that night in Veterans Park.
At 7 p.m, between the casual- and formal-wear competitions of the Miss Decatur Barbecue, the Tiny Tots will command the stage to crown new Mister and Miss Decatur Tiny Tots winners.
The Tiny Tots event remains one of the most popular events of the Decatur Barbecue. In all, more than 125 boys and girls have held the title in the 62 years of the event. Although the exact number is not known, over half of the Tiny Tots winners have been from Decatur.
In just a few days, the reigning title holders, Emma Bowen - Miss Decatur Tiny Tots, Owen Merworth and Morgan Hopkins - co holders of the Mister Decatur Tiny Tots, will hand over their crowns to new winners.
To Bowen, Merworth, Hopkins and Micayla Hendricks, a big thank you for serving the community this past year.
Applications for both contests will still be accepted until the afternoon of Aug. 5. For more information, contact Kelsey Painter at [email protected] or the Decatur Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
General News on 08/03/2016