COLUSA, CA (MPG) – Five young ladies took to the stage for the Colusa County Mini Miss Pageant on June 11, but only one will carry the title for the next year.
Summer Shadley, 13, who was the 2024 first runner-up, once again dazzled the judges on stage and off.
Shadley, first runner-up June Karlonas and Miss Friendship Mary Jane Bowen on June 11 at the Colusa County Fair pre-event.
The pageant, held at the Colusa County Fair grandstands, is a longstanding pre-fair event that includes a talent competition, a unique feature to pageants in the region. But it was Shadley’s personal interview, held privately with the judges, that garnered her the most points.
The judges met with all five contestants on June 7 to get a sense of each girl’s values, goals, aspirations, and personality.
“The judges are looking for a well-rounded contestant to represent our country as Mini Miss, which is why the Mini Miss pageant is judged equally in all areas of competition: 25% for interview, 25% for speech, 25% for talent, and 25% for visual poise,” Master of Ceremonies Moses Figueroa said.
prize, Master of Ceremonies Moses Figueroa, outgoing Mini Miss (2024) Reese Cunningham-Vedo and outgoing Miss Colusa
County (2024) Allie Wills.
Shadley will be an eighth grader at Maxwell Elementary School in the fall. She is the daughter of Rob and Summer Shadley. She is passionate about sports, especially softball, and has raised lambs for the Colusa County Fair for the past four years, winning numerous showmanship and market awards.
“Beyond ribbons, it is lessons in hard work and responsibility that will take me far in life,” Shadley said. “Farming runs deep in my family and I take pride in having a hands-on role. I drive a bankout wagon on the weekends and I am my dad’s number one irrigator in the orchards and rice fields.”
For her talent, Shadley created a tropical island scene through speed painting.
Outgoing Mini Miss Reese Cunningham-Vedo crowned Shadley as her successor after each of the contestants were given awards for the area of competition in which they excelled.
June Karlonas, 12, was first runner-up. She performed a comedy routine for her talent, but earned an individual award for her visual poise.
Karlonas, is the daughter of Jeremiah and Jessica Karlonas, of Williams, but attends school in Maxwell.
Mary Jane Bowen, 9, of Maxwell, was chosen by the other contestants for the Friendship Award, the Mini Miss version of Miss Congeniality.
At age 9, Bowen, the youngest of the group, will be the one to watch in the future, after she belted out the song “Save Me” and earned an individual award for her communication skills.
Avery Mathis, 12, radiated energy with her razor-sharp hip hop routine, earning her the special talent award and the only individual award given that night for talent. The pre-teen is the daughter of Wade and Katie Mathis, of Maxwell.
“Dancing makes me feel free and happy,” Mathis said. “When I’m not dancing, I probably have my nose in a book filled with mystery and fantasy.”
Natalie Manhart, 12, sang “Truth” in the talent competition and earned an individual award for her communication skills. She is the daughter of Jimmy and Renee Manhart, of Arbuckle, and will be a seventh grader at Johnson Jr. High.
Manhart was the 2023 Colusa County Fair Freckle Queen, taking after her fair-skinned red-haired father, who won the title Freckle King at a similar age.
The Colusa County Mini Miss competition has been an annual event for 35 years, held originally during the fair. In recent years, the pageant has been sponsored by Stardust Dance as a stand-alone event with free admission into the grandstands.