Pageant Prize Ideas

The bigger the prizes, the more interest your pageant will attract.

To get people interested in becoming contestants for your pageant, offer prizes that will entice them. You want contestants in the pageant to aim for the big reward. One of the keys to offering highly sought-after prizes for a pageant is securing a variety of sponsors. Seek out sponsors that will donate big-ticket items for your pageant.

College Scholarship

For pageant contestants who are in elementary, middle or high school, a college scholarship will come in handy as they plan their futures. As a prize, award scholarships in different values to the top three pageant winners. Partner with a community college or university in your city or state to offer full two-year and four-year scholarships to the winners. The scholarships should cover everything for the upcoming students, including tuition and fees, books and room and board.

New Vehicle

Give the pageant contestants a chance to drive away winners by offering them a brand-new vehicle. Make the vehicle the top prize, awarding it only to the first-place winner in the pageant. This pageant prize idea could work for pageants with contestants of different age groups, including teenagers, college students and senior citizens. If your organization doesn't have the money to purchase the vehicle, get a local car dealership to sponsor the event and donate it.

Jewelry

An old adage is that diamonds are a girl's best friend. So, for pageants with only female contestants award the first-, second- and third-place winners with jewelry packages. Award the jewelry packages in different values and quantities depending on what position the contestant placed in the pageant. Give the most jewelry to the first-place winner. In the jewelry packages include rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, watches and other pieces.

Clothes

Award the winners in the pageant with shopping sprees to a local clothing boutique or department store. To ensure that the clothes fit perfectly, take the winners shopping and let them pick out what they want. Let the first-place winner buy a completely new wardrobe, including dresses, pants, blouses, shirts, shoes and accessories. For the second-place winners in the pageant, let them pick out three complete outfits. The third-place winner will get to pick out two complete outfit in the store.

References

• Mrs. Minnesota Pageant: Prizes for Mrs. Minnesota
• America's Perfect: Prizes
• MIT News: Beauty pageant prize helps pay student winner's tuition
• Kids Beauty Pagent Secrets: Prizes for contestants during beauty pageants for little girls

Resources

• Direct Your Pageant: How to Obtain Sponsors for your Pageant!
• Rodeo Pageants: Putting on a Pageant