Gold Dust Royalty Pageant contestants step up

The Gold Dust Royalty Pageant is about a lot more than just what the contestants look like or how graceful they are on stage; it's about giving back and making a positive impact on the community.

This year's pageant takes place Sunday, July 17, in the Gold Bar Elementary School gym. Doors open at 11 a.m., with pageant activities beginning at noon. The event is free to attend, but attendees are asked to bring nonperishable items for the pageant food drive.

Formerly held during the Gold Dust Days Heritage Festival, which takes place July 22GÇô24, co-directors Patty and Katelyn Baller bumped the pageant up last year, so winners would be crowned in time to enjoy the festival.

Guests are invited to watch pageant contestants compete for Gold Dust titles in different age divisions: Baby Miss (6 monthsGÇô2); Tiny Miss (3GÇô4); Junior Miss (8GÇô10); Pre-Teen (11GÇô12); Teen (13GÇô15); Miss (16GÇô18) and Prince.

This year will also feature a brand new Misses category for young women 18 and over.

In addition to the queen and king/prince titles, honors will be given in several optional categories, including Ambassador, Cover Model, Overall Talent and Lifetime Queen or King. A new Queen of Queens will be recognized; a title that will be awarded to the 2015GÇô16 Gold Dust Queen who has made the most appearances and accomplished the most community service over the past year.

Whoever is crowned Queen of Queens will remain involved with the pageant over the upcoming year, serving as a mentor to the incoming royalty.

All food collected during the event will benefit the Sultan Volunteers of America (VOA) Food Bank, and the pageant contestant who collects the most food will win the Gold Dust Royalty Ambassador title.

To the Ballers, it's all about watching their kings and queens blossom throughout the year as they gain poise, confidence and a better sense of self. In addition to appearances in local parades and festivals, Gold Dust Royalty serve their community by volunteering, collecting food for the food bank and raising money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

During the past 12 months, the royal court has volunteered at numerous community events, including the Sultan Easter Egg Hunt, the Sky Valley Chamber Auction and Frank and Nancy Roesler's 65th wedding anniversary party at the Startup Gym.

They volunteered to sell concessions during Winterfest, raising money to buy pageant supplies and fund scholarships for pageant contestants. The Ballers strive to keep the pageant affordable, with an admission fee of $50, but never want finances to be a barrier to participation and will work with families that cannot afford the fee.

Each year, pageant activities kick off with a workshop and "Meet the RoyaltyGÇ¥ event, to give new contestants the opportunity to find out more about what the Gold Dust Royalty pageant is all about. One of Patty's favorite parts of pageantry is watching the transformation of each contestant.

"We had a couple this last time at the workshop that were as shy as could be, and by the end were just all bubbly and outgoing,GÇ¥ Patty said. "I love watching them and seeing them grow.GÇ¥

Since the Ballers took over the pageant in 2013, the two have worked to incorporate new facets to keep the competition fresh. In 2014 they added the Baby Miss division, which has turned out to be one of the more popular age categories. The division was created to accommodate Lifetime Gold Dust Queen Briella Caniparoli, a then 10-month-old Sultan girl born with rare heart defects.

Caniparoli won the Baby Miss title in 2014, but was not able to participate in 2015 since only contestants progressing to the next age division are able to recompete. The Ballers created the Lifetime Queen award last year with Caniparoli in mind, surprising the Caniparoli family with the honor. Former Ambassador and Overall Talent winner Liberty Roeder was also made a Lifetime Queen.-á -á

Also last year, the Ballers added the Prince division, and are looking forward to having more boys compete this year.

New elements this year include the Misses age division and vendors featuring locally made items. There is still room for additional vendors, Patty said.

"I have a couple of vending spots still open,GÇ¥ she said. "They're $20, if people want to come.GÇ¥

This year's themed-wear event is "Anything Disney,GÇ¥ allowing both male and female contestants to create an ensemble incorporating any Disney character or theme they wish. Other pageant features include personal introduction, interview, formal wear and most photogenic.-á -á -á

Because it is important to Patty and Katelyn that every pageant participant goes home feeling like a winner, each contestant will be awarded a trophy, crown, sash, goody bag and T-shirt. The pageant is seeking additional swag ' for both boys and girls ' for the goody bags. Businesses can donate products or sponsor the pageant with monetary donations. Contributing businesses will get a live announcement during the pageant.

The Ballers said they are grateful for the generous local sponsors supporting this year's pageant, including STAT Response, Forever Yours Music, Siobhan Wagner Photography and Freemason Larry Foley. Olson-Tech Computers in Sultan donates the pageant's web hosting year round, Patty said, and crafted the pageant website free of charge.

For more information about the Gold Dust Royalty Pageant, call Patty Baller at 425-238-0289 or visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1396303337344107/, or http://www.golddustroyalty.com/.-áGold Bar Elementary is located at 419 Lewis Ave., in Gold Bar.