Laguna girls will vie for crown

Andrew Edwards

Two Laguna girls will join contestants from throughout Orange County

in an upcoming pageant.

Nicole Barney, 11, and Chantel Ebrahimi, 10, are both in the final

stages of preparation for this weekend’s Miss Pre-Teen Anaheim

pageant.

The show will be the first time either Nicole or Chantel have

entered a pageant.

“It sounded like it would be really fun,” Nicole said.

The competition, sponsored by Nationals, Inc., a company that

produces girls’ pageants across the country, gives girls between the

ages of 10 and 12 a chance to compete for a scholarship -- awarded as

a $1,000 savings bond -- as well as the traditional winner’s tiara.

The girl who takes top honors in Anaheim will also receive an

all-expenses paid trip to Orlando, Fla. in December to vie for the

national title.

Nicole, Chantel and other Orange County girls are scheduled to

compete in three rounds over two days. On Saturday, the girls will go

through a private interview with a panel of judges at a Holiday Inn

in Anaheim.

“[The judges] just ask them general questions geared to the young

ladies’ personality,” said Leyla Sartori, an event coordinator with

Nationals Inc.

During Sunday’s event at Millikan High School in Long Beach, the

contestants will model casual clothes and formal wear. Judges will

evaluate the girls’ poise while onstage, as well as their response to

a question during the formal wear round.

“During the competition, the young ladies are basically judged on

how confident they are in their outfit, their stage composure,”

Sartori said.

The modeling techniques -- how to walk onstage -- is a skill both

girls are practicing.

“You have to walk and then you have to do a pause. And then you

have to walk again,” Chantel said.

On Wednesday, Chantel was still looking for the perfect dress to

wear for the formal wear round. She said she hoped for a

bright-colored dress and that she was searching for a puffy gown.

“The best part is when you move around, [a puffy dress] doesn’t

get tangled up in your feet,” she said.

To enter the pageant, all contestants were required to secure $445

from sponsors. The multiple aspects of preparation -- practicing,

finding clothes and looking for sponsors -- means that parents have

to spend a chunk of their time helping their daughters get ready.

“The mom has to do all the organizing ... . I have a whole file on

her sponsors,” Nicole’s mother, Melane Barney, said.

Though the two are newcomers to the pageant world, both Nicole and

Chantel already have experience performing.

Nicole has performed with No Square Theatre in “Bugsy Malone” and

“Peter Pan.” She also sings at Mariner Christian Church. Because of

her previous experience, Nicole said, she is not nervous about the

upcoming show.

“I’ve kind of been onstage before,” she said.

Chantel. who takes dancing classes, sings and plays the piano,

auditioned for a soft drink commercial. Her mother, Ellie

Ataii-Ebrahimi, decided against Chantel taking the role because it

required commuting to Los Angeles.

Chantel said the auditioning process has prepared her for the

pageant.

“I know it’s probably going to be similar to the commercial,”

Chantel said.

Both girls also enjoy sports. Chantel played midfield on the

Phantoms, an AYSO soccer team coached by her father, Frank. Nicole

plays shortstop on the, Roadrunners, an all-girls softball team.

“I love softball,” Nicole said.

Chantel said she has always wanted to be in a pageant, and that

while she would like to incorporate her love of fashion into her

career when she gets older, her aspirations stretch beyond the world

of clothes.

“I want to be a pediatrician and also a model,” she said.