There are no known pageants in Canada that exalt the squeaky rubber nose or marvel on the catwalk at the rainbow afro wig. A more traditional kind of pageant was what Lollipop Swirl had to settle for.
The Prince George clown, known underneath the comedic costume and embellished makeup as Ashley-Paige Smith, is stepping way outside her comfort zone. Good thing she has some oversized red shoes for this journey.
Smith, 30, is wearing the banner of Ms. West Coast at the upcoming Mrs. Canada Globe competition. It is a pageant that only allows participants aged 26-49 (there is a 50-plus category as well, and a younger entry age for those who are married). Having children is permitted, being divorced is not a problem, any form of profession is acceptable, and certainly any form of physicality is acceptable.
There is an evening gown event and a swimsuit event, like many pageants have, but the judging emphasis is on the confidence of the person not the physical features it might show off. And the biggest component is the verbal personality profile each contestant must demonstrate.
"The mandate is empowerment," said Smith. "It calls on women who are passionate about what they do in their lives, who have taken on big responsibilities in life like a marriage, or parenting, or running a business, or advocating for a charitable cause. Rather than focusing on the participant as an individual, it's set up as a showcase for the spectrum of women's career choices and volunteer choices and family choices. Each participant brings something to the stage that we can all learn from. There are examples of doctors and teachers and business people. They needed a clown. It was time for a clown."
She takes some inspiration from one of her heroes from the golden age of the silver screen. Smith is deeply interested in classic films, and knows that one of her favourite celebrities, 91-year-old entertainment dynamo Cloris Leachman, was a clown and a pageant alumna in her day.
"When my family and friends found out I was doing this, they got this strange look on their faces," said Smith. "You are in a pageant? You? In a pageant? And I honestly find the whole idea quite entertaining myself, this is a big departure for me, but there is no downside for me. I get to meet amazing women in the competition, I get to travel to Regina which really interests me, I get to raise money for local and international charities, and it is a big personal growth opportunity."
Locally, Smith has focused her charity requirements on the Big Brothers-Big Sisters organization. The first happened this past weekend when Smith hosted the screening of the documentary film Embrace that highlighted issues of female body image. Local lifestyle coach Zandra Ross was a special guest presenter.
Next is coming soon when Smith, Big Brothers-Big Sisters and the Railway & Forestry Museum host a very special theme event based on some of Smith's personal collecting and construction based on a favourite book/film character. Those details are coming soon.
On an international level, the Mrs. Canada Globe organization is partnered with the Women In Need Foundation, a female advocacy and empowerment organization.
She will also be volunteering as her time allows for various local events and causes that inspire her, like, already booked on her calendar, the Pink Shirt Day activities of Feb. 28 that speak out against bullying.
"I've learned a lot about volunteering and giving from my community," Smith said. "If you live in Prince George, you have been treated to an amazing life lesson in making sure you give of yourself to help out those around you and help out your community. We live in the most giving place I've ever heard of. Volunteerism is what we do best. Stepping into that, for this pageant, is a lot of stress but it's good, positive, exciting stress. Each step of qualifying for Regina has reminded me of things I've done in my life, things I'd forgotten or didn't really pay much attention to until I had to, and that has been a real insight for me in how to keep progressing in my life. That's been fun."
One way the pageant organization is combining charity with determining a winning woman is the online voting process. Part of a contestant's final marks is the results of the computer clicking done by her fans. Each online vote costs $10, and that money is directed to the foundation. The participant who gets the most votes in the People's Choice online poll gets a head-start on the grand prize. Smith was, at last count, sitting in third place. She is laughingly calling her online supporters her Clown Posse.
The grand prize is a professional development package worth an estimated $14,000 plus a trip to China for the Mrs. Globe international finals.
She's undecided how her clowning will emerge as a visual element during the Regina pageant, but it's too much a part of her personality and lifestyle to leave it in a proverbial tickle trunk.
While some people are famously afraid of clowns, her experience is seeing how much gladness and spontaneous jocularity springs up when she's in her costume.
"You don't ask for interesting interactions, when you're dressed as a clown in public, they just happen," she said. The Mrs. Canada Globe experience will undoubtedly be sweeter with Lollipop Swirl. It happens Feb. 9-11, and online voting is open now on the Miss Canada Globe website, just look for the Vote button under each delegate's photo.
