The pageant was hosted by Lynn Kegan, the hot, hunky carpenter on HGTV's "Designed to Sell." He was a bit stiff and I am not sure if he is gay, but when he said, "Aren't I lucky to be surrounded by so many beautiful women," you could tell he wasn't really feeling it. I first heard of Lynn a little over a year ago when my roommate at the time, a producer for Designed to Sell, was trying to come up with a new last name for Lynn. I suggested "Redman" and "Firecrotch," but they obviously didn't take my suggestions. 
The competition itself was exactly what I hoped it would be, very entertaining. Especially since they allowed drinks in the theater. A former Miss DC came out and sang the National Anthem like she was Whitney Houston (after the crack). Is it possible to hear that song without all of the riffs and stylistic interpretation. The opening production number was hilariously bad. I think it was a tribute to Motown or something like that. It appeared that they just learned the choreography minutes before the show started. We were all hoping for a Miss South Carolina moment during the interview component, but we did not get one. There were several very short answers of one sentence or less, and a couple that were not sure how to end their answers, and it seemed that that the "word of the day" was exponential, as in "it is growing at an exponential rate." But no train wrecks. Maybe next year!
As for talent, there was a lot of "interpretive dance" and "dramatic readings" which in my book means they have a lack of talent. But, there were a couple of good singers, two good dancers, and a baton twirler (which we missed because we were getting refills on our drinks). I can't believe we missed the baton twirler.
The winner of Miss Teen DC was Jasmine Alexis, a 17 year old home schooled, Latin ballroom dancer. Her platform was promoting Internet safety among youth and she won the top prize in every category and she was Rich's favorite. 
The winner of Miss Dc was Kate Grinold, who to be completely honest, I don't even remember being in the pageant. I don't remember her platform, talent, swimsuit, or interview and I thought her evening gown made her look like a mermaid. This does not seem like a good sign for DC's chances in the Miss America pageant. For Marc's view on the pageant, click here.
