Traditional Pageantry Makes Its Mark on Hercules Contestants

Spectators will see evening gowns, swimsuits, judges and talent displayed at Saturday’s Miss Hercules Pageant at the Performing Arts Theater of El Cerrito from 6 to 9 p.m.

Very few of them, however, will have seen the months of hard work and dedication it took to prepare for such an event.

“For Miss Hercules, the contestants have to go through a lot of steps for us to get them to where they want to be,” said Richard White, president of the Miss Hercules Organization.

Candidates endured a nutrition class in November, hours of physical fitness performed in the gym and numerous dance rehearsals with choreographer Trina Araby (both for a tree lighting ceremony in December and for Saturday’s opening number).

Throw in all the public relations material for head shots, on-location photo shoots at Stinson Beach and video shoots, and you begin to understand just how involved the process is for Hercules’ inaugural pageant for young women.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” said Hercules Middle High School senior Jacqueline Lares, one of 12 young women competing for the top prize. “This is a completely new experience for me. I’ve never done anything like this before, and never even thought about doing anything like this.”

The winner of the pageant will receive a $5,000 college scholarship, funded in part by Saturday’s $25 admission fee, the sale of raffle tickets and the sponsorship of several businesses and community groups, including Realty World Regency, Insight Optometry, the City of Hercules, North Shore Dental, Farmer’s Insurance Group and Hercules Patch.

“The winner will be crowned because she’s well-rounded, not only in education but also as a helping person in the community,” said Dr. Yvonne Hyland of North Shore Dental. “She won’t get chosen because she’s pretty but because she’ll have all these qualities that make her a unique, beautiful person on the inside, and she’ll be a role model for all the kids in the area.”

The pageant will provide numerous opportunities for awards other than the Miss Hercules title. Other honors include those given for Miss Charity, Miss Congeniality, Miss Talent and Best in Swimsuit, among others.

While sponsorship representatives will present the various awards, the winners will be selected by a panel of nine judges: Myrna de Vera, Ward Shaw, Brian Baniqued, John Delgado, Dorothy Sue Bradley, Candace Johnson, Greg Sherell, Hector Joaquin Colon Gonzales and Rafa Delfin.

Contestants will be evaluated in the categories of talent, question-and-answer, evening gown and swimsuit, although the talent portion is optional and won’t go towards the determining of the winner.

Despite the monetary awards and prestige of winning the city’s inaugural event, the overall significance of the crowning of Miss Hercules is not lost on the contestants.

“It would be an honor to say you’re Miss Hercules and you don’t represent that only because you have a nice face or body, but because you do the right things in school and work hard,” said Lares, who will attend U.C. Santa Barbara in the fall.

“I’m graduating in a few weeks at number 11 in my class. I’ve been president of mock trial for three years. I’ve played varsity sports since my sophomore year. My high school career has been very busy and to have someone say ‘you represent this’...I don’t even have the words to describe it.”