MUSCATINE, Iowa — Miss Muscatine may carry her winning secret to the pageant in a silver makeup tote the size of a small microwave.

About two hours before the pageant began at 7 p.m. Saturday at Central Middle School, Miss Muscatine 2007 Devin Howell found a place for her tote in the sink, beside Michelle Yoshimura’s identical tote on a counter covered in makeup, curlers and curling irons.

The totes carry contestants’ tools (and tricks) of the trade — a veritable arsenal of  makeup, hair spray, creams and curling irons, all aimed at wrapping their act in a sheen of glitz and spritz for judges’ watchful eyes.

Yoshimura, 20, was crowned Miss Muscatine 2008 later in the evening at the 43rd annual pageant. The junior at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, majoring in music education, is the daughter of Dennis and Margaret Yoshimura of Waukee.

The Miss Muscatine Scholar-ship Program is an open pageant, meaning any contestant who meets the age requirements and is a resident of Iowa can compete.

Yoshimura was Miss Linn County in 2007 and a runner-up at the 2007 Miss Iowa competition. Her title as Miss Muscatine will give her another opportunity to compete at the Miss Iowa pageant, which could give her a chance to advance to the Miss America Scholarship Program.

Yoshimura’s year of representing Muscatine County began when Howell read her name at the end of the evening and 2007 Outstanding Teen Nicole Bodman of Muscatine handed her a bouquet of red roses and pinned a crown into her long black hair. But the crowning also brought to an end a day-long marathon of make-up, manes and mirrors for the six Miss contestants, as well as

10 other girls competing in Outstanding Teen, Junior Miss and Outstanding Li’l categories.

Pageantry prep

Miss Muscatine contestants began gathering in a dressing room backstage from the middle school auditorium before 5 p.m. after completing their interviews with the pageant judges. Large garment bags filled the better part of two large hanging racks, various bags and suitcases were strewn about the floor and a curling iron was plugged into every available outlet.

Five contestants from the Miss and Teen categories lined the counter in front of a large mirror. Other girls, still wearing jeans, sat in a couple of available chairs or on the floor, talking among themselves or on their cell phones with friends or family.

“I don’t known how much makeup I should wear, because I don’t know if I should be the new Miss America or the old Miss America,” Yoshimura said, referring to advice that less is more these days.

One of the contestants turned on country music, but other girls requested a different style. Some held hot irons in their hair and others sported a head full of rollers while several raised their arms and danced to a song by Jive Records artist Lil Mama.

At about 5:30 p.m., the contestants rushed from the dressing room into the auditorium to watch each other and the Teen contestants run through their final sound check for the talent competition.

Pauli Mayfield, 21, of Daven-port, who won Miss Louisa County in 2007, was first up with the Broadway vocal, “I Know Where I’ve Been.”

After working out a few kinks at the start of her song with producer Bruce Brown, contestant Jessica Colwell, 22, of Iowa Falls took the stage to run through the classical vocal, “Time to Say Goodbye.”

Colwell was  first runner-up at last year’s Miss Iowa contest.

Amy Goode moved the girls with her vocal performance of country music artist Sherrie Austin’s “Streets of Heaven.”

“Sometimes it makes me want to cry, sometimes I just sing it,” said Goode, 19, of Bloomfield.

Contestants waited seated along the edge of the stage while quietly discussing their interviews with the judges, recounting some difficulty remembering Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s first name.

2008 Outstanding Teen Abby Curtis, 16, a student at Muscatine High School, impressed the contestants with her performance of “Let Me Be There,” written by John Rostill and first recorded by Olivia Newton-John in 1973. But Curtis shrugged off the contestants praises. “Nashville star, yeah, right.”

Only an hour to go

Before contestants realized, it was 6 p.m. and only one hour remained before the pageant began. They returned to the dressing room and started pulling clothes from the garment bags and suitcases. Girls lined the counter to touch-up their hair or makeup, and a  haze of hair spray filled the room.

Shelah Kerschenske, 19, of Muscatine, was one of the first contestants dressed and done fixing her hair and makeup. “I curl it for the evening gown, but that’s it,” she said later of her hairstyling. “It’s just not me.”

Half an hour later, many of the girls were wearing individualized outfits in black and silver for the opening group number.

One of the girls needed scissors to cut a loose string on her top. Contestant Hillary Clark, 22, who considers herself “mom” to the others, pulled a pair from her red suitcase. If any of the girls need anything — from an earring back or necklace, to a drink of cool water — their fellow contestants were ready to share.

Yoshimura laughed at herself for wearing a sleeveless shirt backwards under other clothing in front of the judges because the front was too low-cut, she said.

She and Howell goofed around as the contestants were getting ready.

“We have to be so serious on stage, I need a break backstage,” Howell said.

It’s go time

But by 6:45 p.m., there was little time left for playing as the contestants practiced their steps for the opening act, finished styling or restyling their hair, touched up makeup and glued clothing into place.

Two women with the pageant assisted the contestants through multiple hurried clothing and hair changes throughout the night. “People that help backstage are amazing,” Yoshimura said later.

“All of you need lipstick,” one of the women ordered the contestants. If the audience can’t see it, it doesn’t count.

At 6:55 p.m., Howell received her copy of the program’s script, which she left in the front seat of her mother’s car.

“The script always helps,” she said.

With less than five minutes to go before the program began, all of the contestants were dressed and caught the last glances of themselves in the mirror before filing into the hallway just off the stage.

“I think after sitting back here for how-many-hours, we’re ready,” Yoshimura said.

Reporter contact information

Jennifer Meyer: 563-262-0525

jennifer.meyer@muscatinejournal.com