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Date: 5/30/2023
HOLYOKE — It’s time for another coronation, and this one is much closer to home. On June 11, Ms. Massachusetts Senior America will crown the state’s reigning queen at its annual pageant.
The event, slated for 1 p.m. in the auditorium at Holyoke High School, 500 Beech St., Holyoke, showcases the poise and talent of six contestants, all over the age of 60. Five of the contestants are from Western Massachusetts — Charlene Ann DuBois, Cathy Mc Evady and Jacqueline Watson, all of Holyoke, Mary Hays of Ludlow and Kathleen Newman of Agawam — and one is from eastern Massachusetts, Diane Erikson of Millbury.
Following the pageant there will be a reservations-only reception at 4 p.m. at the Delaney House, 3 Country Club Rd., Holyoke. Tickets are $48 per person, available in advance by calling 413-525-7065 or 413-534-1318.
Lorraine Gorham, who has been the Ms. Massachusetts Senior America State Pageant director for the past 14 years, compared Ms. Massachusetts Senior America to the Miss America pageant, “except we don’t do bathing suit, we do philosophy of life.”
And though the annual event does have its share of glitz and glamour, the true focus is on “The Age of Elegance,” giving the women a chance to “share [their] experience, knowledge and enthusiasm of life” and “be part of a national movement to dispel the myths of aging,” according to the Ms. Massachusetts Senior America brochure.
Contestants in the annual pageant are “scored 30% on [personal] interview, 30% on talent, 20% on evening gown and 20% on philosophy of life,” said Contestant Coordinator Joanne Impoco, who also produces and directs the annual pageant. Impoco shared that every woman who takes part in the pageant receives plenty of coaching, rehearsal and assistance to prepare them for their appearance on the big day.
Win or lose, all contestants in the Ms. Massachusetts Senior America Pageant automatically become a member of the Cameo Club, the organizations’ ambassador group that entertains at VA hospitals, senior centers and retirement communities across the state, as well as at the Big E every fall.
In addition to her role as an ambassador of positive aging at events across the state and Cameo Club entertainer, each year’s reigning Ms. Massachusetts Senior America has one more chance at a coronation, traveling to Atlantic City to take part in the annual, national Ms. Senior America Pageant in the fall.