BROOKE'S PAGEANT WEEK RECAP

One week ago, 17 incredible women checked into the Holiday Select Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. We had no idea what the week would entail, and had no idea how close we would become. The week was full of car rides, laughter, picture taking, rehearsals and food.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

I am so thankful to have experienced the Miss Minnesota week with the 16 other local titleholders. It started on Sunday, when the five finalist for the Quality of Life arrived early for our interviews. Sara Larson, Kelsey Malecha, Quinn Nystorm, Natalie Davis and I had a 10-minute interview. Congratulation to Quinn for winning the Quality of Life award, she is such a remarkable woman.

Once all the titleholders were checked into their rooms it was time for bowling! Most of us had not been bowling in years, and it was a bit rough starting out. By the second game we just decided to get creative. We would bowl with our opposite hand, push the ball with our feet, or even tried bowling with the eyes closed. Thank you to Brunswick Zone in Eden Prairie for not only hosting us for the evening but giving us a coupon for free games for the rest of the summer! I look forward to taking my little brother Sean for his patience with this pageant stuff. Sorry Sean there is more to come, but this time I am getting you out of school in January to sunny Las Vegas.

Monday June 15, 2009

Monday was one of the longest days of the week. We started out with IHOP, and were greeted by my favorite manager Frank Thamer. He has been such an enthusiastic supporter of the Miss Minnesota Organization. I first worked with him during National Pancake Day, then he sponsored the breakfast for my Minnesota Queens for a Cure Event in May, and we reunited during Miss Minnesota Week.

After breakfast it was time to film the opening number video. If you were able to attend the pageant, then you had the opportunity to watch the AMAZING video that Johnny put together. You would have never known that the 5-minute video you watched took a full day of filming. After a couple hours filming at the hotel we were off to lunch to Pei Wei. I had the best tofu I have ever tasted, and I cannot wait to go back there.

After lunch we filmed visits to our sponsors: Cos Bar, The Hair District, OPM, Rejoovme, and Max’s. That night we had dinner at Laredo’s which leads me to a funny story about Miss Frazee and I. We visited the restroom together and while in the stalls Rylee continued having a conversation with me, but I didn’t hear a word of it because the stalls must have been sound proof. When we came out Rylee looked at me and said “did you hear a word I said?” I looked at her and said “Absolutely not!” And I still don’t know what the conversation was about???

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tuesday started out on such a high note when we were able to visit Gillette Children’s Hospital. I have volunteered there for the past seven months and it was fun to see the kids I worked with again, I hope they recognized me with the crown on my head! Not only did we receive a tour from our wonderful tour guide Dave, but also we made cookies with the patients! I have never seen the waiting room so busy, and I loved seeing the floor covered in sprinkles! Stephen, one of the boys that I made a cookie with wanted to make the best cookie. He started with pink icing, and then added orange sprinkles. Instead of taking a bite into his cookie, he wanted to mix the icing and sprinkles together, with his hands! It took 10 minutes, and about 10 baby wipes to finally clean him up. :)

We enjoyed lunch from Panera at Gillette’s before heading off to the Zoo. Our families were able to come and join us on our visit to the zoo; it was great to see my dad. Even though I only live about 5 minutes away from the Minnesota Zoo, it is a new experience when you are walking around with 16 other girls wearing crowns and sashes! A high light was getting to feed the giraffes! Being only 5’3, something I thought I would never be able to do…was to look a giraffe in the eye!

Brandon Wittrock, who represents Minnesota as a Children's Miracle Network Champion for 2009, his sister Brittany and Mom, Sheri, were also at the zoo. Brittany and I have played together at Gillette’s and it was great seeing her again. After talking to Brandon for a bit I could tell he was quite excited to present the Miracle Maker Award at the State Pageant on Saturday.

After the zoo we enjoyed dinner at Majors. While we were waiting for our dinner I visited with two couples that were curious about all the crowns. As soon as I mentioned we were competing for Miss Minnesota, one of the women shared that she competed for Miss Minnesota 1955 as Miss Madison! What a small world! It is amazing how this program is always bringing women together J

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wednesday morning we packed all of our competition clothing into the vans to bring over to Eden Prairie High School. I have discovered that I am not a light packer….Yes; I did bring 20 pairs of shoes to Miss Minnesota week. That was for one week… I can’t image how many shoes I will back for Miss America!

After unloading we headed over to the State Capitol for our tour! Our State Capitol is such a beautiful building and it was nice to be reminded of what an incredible piece of architecture we have in St. Paul. Our wonderful tour guide took us on to the roof of the capital to see the Golden Horses then down to the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives! We were the VIP guests! For lunch we were invited to Santorini where I sat with Sara Larson, Miss Capital City, Savanna Tate, Miss Moorhead, Rylee Daggett, Miss Frazee, and Sarah Anderson, Miss Waseca County Sleigh & Cutter. We all discovered we had a sweet tooth when the entire plate of cheesecake was gone in less than a minute. I will also admit that we even finished another table’s plate, and then it was off to Eden Prairie High School for the staging of the show and working off the cheese cake.

That evening for Dinner was the annual visit to Buca’s. During the meal I sat by Sarah Anderson and Quinn Nystorm. I have never laughed so hard in my life and Jennifer is a witness! Through dinner and the car ride home, we had a laughing attack and some of us were even brought to tears! All I have to say is – Star Wars :)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

The annual Miss Minnesota Golf Tournament was Thursday morning. All week we were nervous about the weather but the day ending up being beautiful! All the titleholders were put into teams of 3 or 4 and assigned to a golf hole. My group was Emily Wyman, Miss Brainerd Lakes and Lacey Erickson, Miss Northwest. We deemed ourselves the short group since all of us are less than 5’3. Emily took the risk of teaching me how to drive a golf cart… it was a lot of stopping and going but I successfully drove about 15 feet. I am not sure why I was having a hard time driving a golf cart since it is about the same size as my own car. One of the best parts of the golf tournament was seeing my family. My family came dressed with matching t-shirts, matching plaid golf shorts, and their own sashes. They had their own creative titles such as: Miss Ing-link (missing link), Miss Eltoe (mistletoe) and Miss Spelled (misspelled). Even though they came in last place… I was proud to have them on my team! Thank you to Valleywood Golf Course for hosting us for the morning.

That afternoon we had about 2 hours to get ready for the teen pageant! All the titleholders were dressed in fancy cocktail dresses as we headed to Fuddruckers for dinner. I love the idea of 17 girls wearing beautiful dresses while eating juicy burgers. Congratulations to Katlyn Ziegler the new Miss Minnesota’s Outstanding Teen! We are going to have a busy year together, and I cannot wait to cheer you on in Florida!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Friday was the big day! It started out with a wonderful Breakfast at The Original Pancake House and then off to Eden Prairie High School for the rest of the day. I had my interview at the beginning of the day and then talent rehearsal in the afternoon. I was so thankful to have Vicki Kueppers, a former Miss Minnesota and close friend, there to support me. She said all the right things to pump me up for the competition that evening. We had two quick breaks for lunch and dinner (Thank you to Chipotle and Subway for providing us with the meals) and the rest of the day was full of rehearsals.

Friday Night Prelim Pageant

I remember thinking while waiting back stage that I was sitting out there one year ago clapping and cheering for the show to start. Here it is one year later and I am getting ready to go out onto the stage.

At the end of the evening I was blessed with being named the Talent Prelim winner. The song I sang, ‘Somebody to Love” is a fun song to perform and I have a great time while I am on stage! Congratulations to Kelsey Malecha the swimsuit Prelim winner, Sara Anderson, Miss Photogenic, Danielle Tamke, The Miss America Scholastic Achievement Award Winner and Quinn Nystorm, who was not only our Quality of Life Award winner, but also the Miss America Community Service Award Winner.

After a quick 15-minute visitation with our families, we were exhausted! For the first time my roommate Angi, Miss Morris, fell asleep before I did. So with the TV to myself and too excited to sleep, I decided to skip the CNN and watch What Not to Wear instead!

I would like to share with you a little behind the scenes of what happens back stage at the pageant.

1. Before the opening number each night a group of us would get in a circle and say a prayer before going out on to the stage.

2. We had our swimsuit bottoms on underneath our Opening Number Dresses, and literally ran to the dressing room to change in time for the swimsuit competition.

3. Yes, we do eat cookies as soon as the swimsuit portion is over.

4. There was more than one wardrobe malfunction backstage. Thank goodness every girl had a bag of safety pins!

5. The moment I walked off stage both nights for talent, my jewelry fell right off my neck!

6. You know the saying that girls always go to the bathroom in pairs. Well it is the same backstage, except your partner has to hold your dress up while you go!

Saturday June 20, 2009

The big day had finally arrived! Quinn and I were up at by 7 AM, and ready for a work out. During the entire week Quinn was my workout buddy each morning. On Saturday we did some cardio and planned to do an AB workout. After about 5 crunches we just looked at each other and decided to lie on the floor and chat instead!

After our “gym workout” it was time to meet our families at the Miss Minnesota brunch. My family and the Twin Cities directors were all at my table along with my grandmother and cousin from New Jersey. My Grandmother lives right outside of Atlantic City and every year would go to the Miss America Shoe Parade on the boardwalk. My Grand mom shared with me stories about her friends who served as hostess for the Miss America contestants. I know they all still miss having the pageant there on the boardwalk.

We had a little down time before the big night to pack up our rooms and rest and then we were off to the school for the final rehearsal. Our emcee for the evening, Stevie Ray was there to greet us. I remember watching him last year at the Miss Minnesota pageant and thought he was just hysterical. He definitely kept us entertained during the day.
I have to be honest and say the rest of the evening is all a blur. Once the opening number started and I heard the crowd cheer it was a whirlwind from then on! All I remember was standing hand and hand with my sister titleholder Miss Capital City, Sara Larson, as they were about to announce the new Miss Minnesota 2009. My heart is still pounding just thinking about the moment that they called my name as the new Miss Minnesota. (Sara – I am so sorry if I cut off the circulation in your fingers while we were on stage!!)

I am very grateful for the opportunity I have been given to represent the state of Minnesota for the year. I cannot wait for what the year brings, especially for the Miss America pageant in January.

Saturday Night 2 AM

After the pageant party at the hotel I drove home to visit with family and friends. Pulling into my drive way I saw this sign going across my garage door that reads Congrats Miss Minnesota 2009 Brooke Kilgarriff. My neighbor’s son Connor made this sign and had it up for me to see that night when I arrived home.

I spent the next 2 hours sharing stories and laughing in the kitchen with family and friends. We were all starving so we had pizza, artichoke dip and bread, red velvet cake and then went to bed. Good thing there are 222 days until the Miss America Pageant because I have not worked out in 3 days.

Book your Vegas ticket now!

Always,

Brooke Kilgariff

Miss Minnesota 2009

P.S. You can follow me on twitter by visiting twitter.com/MissMN09!