Back for its second year, Sapulpa’s Route 66 Christmas Pageant brought even more cuteness to an already beautiful holiday season.
Amy Anderson-Barnes, the director and host of the pageant, held the contest in the Shaw Auditorium at the Sapulpa High School on Saturday, December 9th. According to Barnes, there were 30 contestants total, with 7 awards handed out for “overall” categories, and 7 for runners-up in those categories.
She said the competition was steep; “Some scores were just one point away from (winning) overall, and in one division, we needed a tie-breaker,” she said. Even so, she says that everyone walked a winner. “Everyone had a blast, and each contestant got something from ‘Santa’s Table,'” she said.
Taylor Conkling, whose daughter Gracyn won Little Miss Route 66 in the 5-7 age category, also won Best Hair, Best Smile and Overall Most Photogenic, and Overall Best Christmas Wear.
Conkling says that the pageant is wonderful for her daughter because she has such an outgoing personality. “She’s always been very energetic, very social, and wants to be in front of people,” she says.
Though Conkling wasn’t a “pageant girl” herself, she did participate in one when she was 12 years old. When her mom saw the promotion for the pageant last year, she asked if she thought Gracyn would want to participate. She did and at just four years old, with no experience at all, Gracyn won Tiny Miss Route 66 in 2022.
Conkling says she’s grateful to Amy Barnes and her team’s promotion of the event, and their commitment to keeping it tasteful what could be a world of drama, if reality television was any indication.
“(Amy) made it clear that it was a beginner pageant, that there were no makeup or hair requirements,” she said, adding that the point of the contest was for the children to have fun. “She kept it very age-appropriate,” Conkling said.
Gracyn, who won with an adorable dance routine to a candy-cane song with a matching candy-cane themed outfit, will now appear in the Sapulpa Chamber Christmas Parade on Saturday. Conkling says she’d recommend the experience to anyone with an interest in the performing arts.
“They really put a lot of work into it,” she said. “It turned out great and they’re doing wonderful. It’s amazing to have something local for young girls to be a part of. Makes everyone feel so beautiful.”
Here are the overall winners from each division:
- Little Mr. Rt 66 – Oakland Marshall
- Baby Miss Rt 66 – Parker Shelley
- Toddler Miss Rt 66 – Zailey Burney
- Tiny Miss Rt 66 – Vivian Khan-Watson
- Little Miss Rt 66 5-7yrs – Gracyn Conkling
- Jr Miss 8-11 – McKinnley Hoehner
- Miss Rt 66 14-17 – McKenzi Montgomery
