With “In One Era and Out the Other,” the annual Miss Texarkana Scholarship Organization pageant will showcase talented contestants and crown the winners on Jan. 3.

Held at 7 p.m. at the Perot Theatre, the show promises to bring song and dance through the decades to the Perot’s classy stage. Frank Poff and Jessie Ward, a former Miss Texarkana and Miss Arkansas titleholder, will host the night’s pageant show.

A new Miss Texarkana and two Miss Teen Texarkanas will be crowned that evening, while the Little Miss Texarkana show is held at 9:30 a.m. in the same venue.

The new Miss Texarkana will join Margaret Edwards, who won the crown last year and represents Texarkana in the Miss Arkansas pageant this year. The new Miss will represent Texarkana in Texas.

Tiffany Beck is once again directing the show. It’s her third year in a row to do that job.

“We go through different eras throughout the show. We start with the ‘20s and ‘40s ... and then we go to the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. And at the end is a big medley of ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000 (era songs). Something for everybody,” said Beck.

“I feel like it gets a little bigger every year,” she said.

This year has seven vocalists and 12 dancers in the lineup, as well as a combo band playing during the evening gown presentation. Costumes should represent the eras. “Lots and lots of music,” she said, noting she’d just bought “Hammer” pants (in the style of MC Hammer).

“I think it will be a lot of fun for people that are really music buffs. People that really enjoy music, I think, would really enjoy the show because there’s just tons of music,” said Beck.

Reigning titleholders will perform throughout the show, and former Miss Texarkanas will be introduced throughout the show and some will participate in production numbers and the finale.

Annie Cunningham, the very first Miss Texarkana from 1933, will make an appearance during the proceedings. The opening number will also include a slideshow of former titleholders.

“It’s a fun show. I think it’s going to be entertaining,” Beck said about the pageant, which she wants to make enjoyable for all.

There will be eight contestants in the Miss division and seven in the Teen division.

In addition to the honor of representing Texarkana, Miss Texarkana receives a prize package that includes the official crown, a flower bouquet, a $1,750 scholarship to the university or college she chooses, as well as a $1,500 wardrobe allowance.



(Tickets: $10 for Little Miss, $15 for Miss and Miss Teen, and $20 for both pageants. For information and reserved seats: 903-792-4992.)