Nelson native Mariah Dixon is in Toronto this week taking part in the Miss Universe Canada pageant, where she’s among 56 finalists.
Preliminaries began last night at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, where contestants competed in front of a live audience and judging panel.
Fifteen were to be chosen along with five segment winners for a chance at the title tomorrow night. The overall winner goes on to the Miss Universe pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil in September.
Dixon, 18, graduated from L.V. Rogers last year. She told the Star in December that she’s never participated in a pageant before, and applied on a whim after reading about the contest on the Internet.
She was one of only a few women without experience at the initial interview and training session in Vancouver.
“It will be lots of fun,” she said at the time. “I’m going to work hard at it, but it’s just an experience.”
Dixon has several local sponsors, including Timberland Consultants, Vogue Studio, and Jill Beaulieu RMT.