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Published: Saturday, May. 01, 2010 / Updated: Friday, Apr. 30, 2010 02:59 PM

Avery Close, Anna Skidmore, are crowned Fort Mill’s first Strawberry Queens

FORT MILL -- 

The first-ever South Carolina Strawberry Festival Pageant kicked off three days of festival events last night at Nation Ford High School. And when the lights went down and the girls had paraded across the stage in casual, fitness and evening wear, two queens were crowned.

Avery Close was crowned Teen Miss Strawberry Queen and Anna Skidmore was crowned Miss Strawberry Queen. Runners up in the teen division, age 13 to 18, were Haley Leslie, second runner up, and Austen Philips, first runner up. In the Miss division, for ages 19 to 29, runners up were Anna Gill, second runner up, and Catherine Raybon, first runner up.

Taylor Phillips took home an award for the highest advertisement sales and Mina McLean took home the “People’s Choice” award, given to the contestant who received the most money from audience members during intermission, deposited into a bucket with the contestants’ names and photos. Funds raised were donated to the Alive at 25 young driver’s safety program.

McLean, participating in her first pageant, was, at 28 years old, the oldest contestant in the pageant. She entered for fun, but also to promote the message that self-esteem and confidence make a woman beautiful.

Her mission, she said, was accomplished. Parents and teens approached her in the days leading up to the pageant and after the event was over, and told her that she had become a role model for the younger girls in the pageant and in the audience.

“It was fun just to be part of it,” McLean said. “It was exciting.”

Despite the fun she had, McLean said that this will be her first and last pageant.

“I’ll be hanging up my tiara,” she said.

The Miss and Teen queens will represent Fort Mill at events monthly, including the town’s Christmas Parade and Fourth of July festivities.