Miss Tennessee pageant postponed over coronavirus concerns

Miss Greene County Brianna Mason is crowned Miss Tennessee by four former Miss Tennessees at the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, June 29, 2019. (Photo: Brianna Paciorka, Knoxville News Sentinel)

John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Published 5:06 p.m. CT April 14, 2020

According to the lyrics of the 1945 Hoagy Carmichael song, "Memphis in June" is where you will find "a shady veranda under a Sunday blue sky" and "cousin Amanda makin' a rhubarb pie."

Contrary to pre-pandemic expectations, however, you will not find many Miss Tennessee pageant participants in Memphis in June.

The event — popularly referred to as a beauty and talent contest, but officially known as the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Competition — had been set for June 7-13 at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.

Due to coronavirus concerns, however, the competition is being moved to late summer or early fall, according to Kevin Kane, CEO of Memphis Tourism. Kane said the Cannon Center was holding dates open in July and August. He said organizers should announce the exact dates soon.

Close to 30 women are expected to participate. Competition events take over multiple days and include preliminary rounds and public appearances, with the pageant itself set for the final night.

Part of the Miss America network of events, the competition had not taken place in Memphis in 65 years. Last year's pageant was held in Knoxville, ending a decades-long run in Jackson. During that event, Brianna Mason of Greene County was crowned, becoming the first African American Miss Tennessee. Her winnings included $15,000 in scholarships. Mason competed on Dec. 19, 2019, in the Miss America contest, but the winner was Camille Schrier of Virginia.

Memphis is a logical choice for a Miss America-affiliated competition. In 1947, Memphis' Barbara Jo Walker won the contest, becoming the last Miss America to be crowned in her bathing suit (future victors were crowned wearing evening gowns). Walker was the mother of the late Andy Hummel, bass player with the influential Memphis power pop band Big Star.

In 1986, Memphis' Kellye Cash was crowned. A singer who has released country and Christian albums, she, too, was kin to a Memphis Music Hall of Fame inductee: Johnny Cash was her uncle.

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2020/04/14/coronavirus-miss-tennessee-pageant-postponed-miss-america-memphis/2992342001/