Local News in Brief : Beauty Pageant Dropped
The Port of Los Angeles and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce have dropped their annual beauty pageant, which has been held for nearly two decades, in favor of a fall art exhibit that will kick off with a $50-a-person, black-tie charity fund-raiser.
Chamber officials said the Miss Worldport LA pageant--as it was known in its most recent incarnation--required an enormous amount of work for a contest that was losing its local appeal and all too often crowned winners who had no connection to Wilmington.
“Last year it was someone who worked in Rolling Hills (Estates) and lived in Redondo Beach . . . ,” said Lois Denzin, the chamber executive director. “I think everyone just kind of lost interest.”
Miss Worldport LA’s duties have included representing the port at important ship arrivals, terminal dedications and other promotional events. Past winners include Marlise Ricardos of San Pedro, who won the Miss California contest this year as Miss Lomita.
Denzin said the cancellation of the pageant had nothing to do with protests--such as the one that marked this year’s Miss California pageant--that beauty contests are demeaning. She noted that other pageants are “wildly successful.”
The pageant’s replacement will be a three-weekend showing of 14 bronze sculptures by Wilmington native Jasper D’Ambrosi.
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