I'm way into the Miss America pageant tonight. Here's why:

[cali]

I'm rooting for my homestate contestant, Miss Vermont. Her name is Ashley Wheeler and she's a liberal who volunteered for Bernie Sanders when he ran for the Senate, and who's cause is registering young voters and environmentalism. She's wearing a "green" gown made of hemp and recycled materials, fashioned by 'Earthbitch' a design studio that does nothing but environmentally sound clothes made in a solar powered studio, tucked way back in a village in the Northeast Kingdom- and Ashley is also a Kingdom girl.

Ashley won in the talent preliminaries on Thursday night, she actually might have a chance.

She'd certainly be a different kind of Miss America.

[JVS]

1. WOOOOT! Go Miss Vermont!

:bounce:

[cali]

2. lol. here's some about her gown

Tara Lynn's work is so cool.

Ashley’s mother told her about Tara Lynn, a couture eco- wedding gown designer in Sutton. After about a month of sketching and fitting, Ashley had a unique dress made of hemp and silk and other fun materials that screamed green.

“I was really excited about making a hemp and silk pageantry dress,” Tara Lynn said. “About really getting the opportunity to use this fabric because people are afraid of hemp. They think it’s a frumpy textile. This dress is sexy and classy and takes hemp and silk out of its stereotype.”

Ashley’s gown is made of bronze-colored hemp and silk satin with a bustier made from soft natural hemp and cotton. The bodice, cascade and train are accented with gold lace and encrusted with gold beads and sequins.

Tara Lynn’s neighbor, Shelly Smith, gave the designer the lace for the dress from two gold-lace curtains she couldn’t use. Tara Lynn added a glamorous sparkle to the material by encrusting it with sequins and beads that she had purchased at the Re Store in Montpelier years ago. The message behind the gown, which was sewn together using solar power, is as stunning as the gown itself.

“I never imagined myself making a pageantry gown before, but I think it’s awesome,” Tara Lynn said. “I think it was definitely a perfect thing for a Miss Vermont contestant to run as going green. Especially with the economy being so bad, I think she’s making a huge statementShe was the first customer to ever ask me ‘why do you use hemp and what is important about hemp fiber?’ I don’t know if she realizes how much it is going to affect the hemp industry or anybody who has been working on hemp legislation since the 1940s. I had to buy that fabric in China. Why can’t it be manufactured here? We can cut and sew it and buy it but we can’t grow it?”

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990122057

[WinkyDink]

3. I always root for my Miss PA., but I'll be watching "Witness for the Prosecution".

Tyrone Power trumps most everything!

[cali]

4. kick and link to Earth Bitch

http://www.earthbitch.com/joomla/index.php\

more tara lynn designs here, including the dress for Miss Vermont

http://www.taralynnstudio.com/bridal/custom_collection.php

[MajorChode]

5. I don't see how she has a chance

More brains than boobs is not a winning ticket.

[cali]

6. Well, evidently she does have a chance

she just won the the preliminary talent thingie. And it would be a riot to have a Bernie supporting eco-minded Northeast Kingdom girl as Miss America.

[MajorChode]

7. I think it would be a good thing if she does win

I'm just looking at such competitions from a cynical perspective. Perhaps it's because the wingnuts made such a big deal about Palin being a "beauty queen".

[graywarrior]

8. Since I'm right next door and she already sounds like a winner, I'll send out

vibes for her to take the crown.

[skygazer]

9. My home state as well

I'll root for her gladly. :bounce:

[applegrove]

10. Go vermont. I might watch but I always skip the question portion. Too embarrassing.

[cali]

11. excruciating

The whole thing is dumb, but I'm into it because Ashley's a local girl and different from the usual type- also my son went to graded school with her.

[applegrove]

13. I like watching the dresses and the competition. But the question and answer sessions.. too painful.

[Mad_Dem_X]

12. Sorry - it's Delaware's year

First the V.P. and now Miss America. Go Delaware! :headbang:

[cali]

14. Probably a lot more likely than Miss Vermont

but I doubt Miss Delware is a liberal, environmentalist. And I know she won't be wearing a hemp and recycled lace evening gown made in a solar powered studio.

[grasswire]

15. what network?

what time?

[cali]

17. TLC at 8 p.m.

be there and be square.

[dem629]

16. I'll be rooting for the hottest one.