Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 12, 1994 TAG: 9407220053
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Kathleen Wilson
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But on the dance floor in the ballroom at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood near 1 in the morning following the pageant, Tracy showed off her real talent.
The deejay cranked up ``Orange Blossom Special,'' and with a ``hee haw!'' she kicked off her spike heels and clogged her way around the dance floor in a short silver spangled dress.
Tracy was totally unaware of the crowd of spectators she gathered.
This woman can dance.
``I've never seen anyone's feet move that fast in my life,'' remarked more than just a few of those awestruck by her total grasp of the complicated footwork.
I told Tracy I hadn't been to the pageant and that I was sure she had a lovely voice, but next year, why the heck didn't she just wow the crowd and the judges by kicking off those shoes and Orange Blossom Special-ing her way across the stage in the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium.
``I used to clog a lot,'' she said breathlessly. ``I don't know. Maybe I will.''
For those not in the know of things pageant, this affair - the party thrown following the pageant for all of the contestants, sponsors, judges, families, etc. - is know as the Afterglow Party.
I swear I'm not making that up.
Finagling an invite to this party is no small feat. The press are strictly persona non grata. The only way to get in was to have a pink ticket. Try as we did, we couldn't manage to get me a pink ticket.
There were even sheriff's deputies taking tickets at the door.
Word has it that pageant officials were afraid we'd take advantage of watching the girls having a good time and turn the party into some wild hanging-from-the-chandeliers, dancing-with-lampshades-on-their-heads story.
All I saw was a bunch of people having a great time.
Remember, maybe only one woman in this room was Miss Virginia, but every single woman wearing a sparkly dress and a banner was also wearing a tiara. The one they'd won at the local competition that got them to the big event.
Aspiring Miss Virginias filled the room as well.
Erin Hildreth, 11, who attends Forest Middle School in Lynchburg was there. She's Miss PreTeen Virginia.
``Let's pretend,'' I asked Erin, ``that you were on stage right now competing to be Miss Virginia and it is the interview segment of the pageant.
``If you were to become Miss Virginia, what would be the first thing you'd want to accomplish?''
``IfIwere tobecomeMissVirginiaIwouldencourageeveryonetovolunteerbecauseit's somethingpricelessyoucando,'' she responded, as if she'd been prepared for this moment her entire life.
My favorite part of this event was running into four guys wearing shorts who sneaked in one of back doors of the ballroom from the Elephant Walk.
``If anyone asks, just tell them we went upstairs and changed our clothes,'' one whispered dramatically.
Party crashers.
But because the room was predominantly filled with women, mostly dancing with each other, the contestants were not only gracious to the gentleman, but also seemed darned happy to have some men to dance with.
Chris Williams, Dennis Odham, Hersel Lawson and Alan Johnson of Roanoke 'fessed up near the end of the party that they'd crashed.
They had one heck of a better time at the Afterglow Party than they'd had at the Elephant Walk.
You know what it's like for guys to meet women in bars. (Well, at least I know what the flip side is like.)
``At the Elephant Walk, most of the girls won't dance when you asked them,'' said Chris.
``But when we came in here, the room is filled with beautiful, polite women,'' marveled Dennis. ``Each one we asked to dance said yes.''
One person who didn't make it anywhere near the dance floor was poor Cullen Johnson, who'd been crowned Miss Virginia that evening.
Cullen made it about seven feet inside the door to the Afterglow Party. There she was mobbed with well-wishers and zillions of people holding cameras who wanted to have their picture taken with her.
Cullen, who arrived at the pageant as Miss Central Shenandoah Valley, was the best-dressed woman in the room, in a very simple floor-length ivory gown with a jewel neck.
Did she mind that she never even managed to get a drink or a hunk of cheese or even a dance with some of the women she'd befriended on the pageant circuit?
``Not at all,'' she said. ``I worked hard to get here.''
by CNB