Nevada State
Cinderella Scholarship Pageant

The Cinderella Scholarship Pageant, founded in 1976 by Carl Dunn and Craig Toler, has grown into the largest and most prestigious pageant system of its kind in the world. It has set new standards of excellence in the youth pageant field.   Cinderella is a division of lnternational Productions & Publications, Inc. The corporation also produces the Miss Pageants & Miss Talent national contest to select "Goodwill Ambassadars" for the pageant industry of the United States. In addition, IPPI also maintains the headquarters for AAMTC (America's Amateur Model and Talent Competition), and produces the AAMSC international Competition.   The Cinderella Scholarship Pageant is divided into faur age categories: Cinderella Tot (ages 3-6); Cinderella Miniature Miss (ages 7-9); Cinderella Miss (ages 10-12); and Cinderella Teen (ages 13-17). More than just a beauty pageant, Cinderella is a youth development scholarship program that offers many opportunities for achievement and recognition to deserving children, teens and young adults. The pagean's high standards of excellence and principles have won the support of civic and service organizations, educators and the clergy from around the world.   With a strong belief that pageants without "pageantry" are nothing more than cantests, Cinderella launched its first international finals in Dallas, Texas at the famous Dallas Apparel Mart with a production budget of over $100,000. The elaborate extravaganza has been hailed as a milestone in the history of youth pageants; setting new heights for production standards.   After two successful years in Dallas, the pageant moved its international headquarters to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the fall of 1971, with its finals in the new muti-million dolar Riverside Centroplex Canvention Center. From 1977 to 1982 the pageant grew to an enormous scope with official preliminary events in over forty states and raised its prize segment from a meager $12,000 to over $55,000. The national telecast of the college-age division from Caesar's Palace in Lake Tahoe brought the pageant into national prominence as the foremost youth development program of its kind.   It was during these years that the pageant developed the most complete pageant staging kit in the industry, making the pageant an excellent fund raising project for civic and service organizations. The staging kit included in-depth instructional materials, the pageants own line of custom trophies, crowns and banners, 4-color entry blanks, program book covers and posters which standardized preliminary events across the nation.   Unique with the pageant is the official Cinderella Runway/Modeling Music with electronic tones and signals designed ta aid participants in their onstage modeling presentations. This revolutionary idea of coordinating the modeling segment of the pageant has set Cinderella apart from ordinary pageant competitions.   In 1981 the pageant once again upgraded its international finals by designing three mammoth "storybook sets" for the colorful extravaganza. The sets included a quaint Cinderella's Village set for sportswear competition, an elegant Cinderella Ballroom set for partywear and a 30-foot tall Cinderella Castle set far the grand finals. In addition, the pageant created a 16-foot tall "Fairy Godmother's Dress" with over 900 yards of fabric and a giant "Pumpkin Balloon" as a centerpiece for a "Cinderella Fair."   In 1982 the pageant contracted with a major trophy company to produce a special mold for a custom trophy figure for its trophies. A beautiful replica of the official "Cinderella Crest" at the top of each Cinderella award makes Cinderella's trophy line the "oscar" of the pageant industry.   Over the years Cinderella's international royalty has been among the most celebrated pageant winners in the world. They have appeared in the nationally televised Orange Bowl Parade, Hollywood Santa Claus Parade, Fiesta Bowl Parade and have made personal appearances at the world famous Xanadu Hotel on the Grand Bahama lsland. They have traveled thousands of miles appearing at local and state pageants from coast-to-coast.   1983 marked yet another milestone as Cinderella moved its international finals to the new $146-million dollar convention center in Miami, Florida. The nation's premier resort city provided a glamorous setting for the nation's most colorful pageant event. A highlight of the first event in Miami was the introduction of Cinderella's own "Electric Light Fantasy" with over 5,000 twinkle lights outlining Cinderella's Castle and a life-size Pumpkin Coach built at a cost of over $13,000.   1984 will long be remembered as the year that the pageant system topped the $100,000 mark in awards and scholarships. Cinderella has more than doubled the prizes being presented by any similar pageant in the youth field.   In 1991 the international finals were moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the heartland of America, to provide better geographical access for state delegations. Oklahoma City's fabulous Myriad Convention Center, which is directly connected by underground tunnel to the Sheraton Century Center Hotel, became the ideal setting for the world's most spectacular youth event of its kind.   1991 saw another dramatic change in the Cinderella Program...its President and Founder, Carl David Dunn, passed away much to the sorrow of Cinderella participants, families and the pageant world as a whole. Now under the direction of Fred Vollman and an excellent and seasoned staff, the Cinderella Scholarship Program is poised to enter the 21st century as the undisputed leader in the pageant industry.   New for 1994 was the introduction of the lnternational Woman competition that is held in conjunction with the international finals. This competition, which takes the place of the Cinderella College Age events, has been designed to address the ever-changing needs of young women in the 1990s and boast a prize segment in the thousands of dollars!   Currently, the Cinderella lnternational Pageant is held in historic New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans, hailed in a recent Condé Nast Publication as "one of the top 5 tourist destinations in the United States and among one of the most popular destinations in the world," is the perfect place for "Cinderella families" to enjoy one of America's most romantic and historic cites while they participate in the world's largest youth development scholarship pageants. The New Orleans Hyatt Regency Hotel serves as the host site for this international pageant and the elegant Orpheum theater is the venue far the elaborate productions staged by the Cinderella lnternational Pageant.   In its second decade of leadership, Cinderella has become the most revered youth development program of its kind in the world. With its emphasis on youth development and its commitment to excellence, Cinderella looks forward to the years ahead. From its position of leadership, the pageant looks to a progressive future as it continues to set the standards for the pageant and youth development industry.

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