Miss Wantagh: A tradition since 1956

The Miss Wantagh pageant has been a tradition in Wantagh since 1956. In the only community that still holds a pageant on Long Island, the Miss Wantagh tradition has become a highlight of the annual calendar.

Each year, several sophomore or junior girls audition. The Miss Wantagh pageant is not a beauty pageant. Rather, each of the finalists stands in front of a panel of judges, explaining community service activities and other activities she has been a part of.

Hailey Orgass, the winner in 2012, said, “Miss Wantagh is a role model for high school, middle school and even elementary school kids to look up to.”

During her reign, Orgass said, she became involved in the community by organizing events to fight bullying. Because of her work, it is now a requirement for each Miss Wantagh to organize a project during her reign.

Angelica Balitsos, Miss Wantagh in 2013, echoed Orgass’s message of being a role model. “Miss Wantagh reaches out and listens to our community,” she said. “Most importantly, Miss Wantagh needs to embody the morals and heart of a Wantagh born-and-raised and be willing to give the most she possibly can back to her home town which has given her so much.”

Orgass added that Ella Stevens has played an important role in organizing the pageant. Stevens, the lead coordinator, said she is amazed at how the pageant has grown over years. “The community likes to see what the girls are involved in and how they give back to the community,” she said.

Chris Kaufman was a judge for this year’s pageant and in the past. “I enjoy it,” he said. “I am very impressed at how seriously the girls take it. I think it’s great that these teens want to be a positive representation for kids.”

Maggie Marino, the director of the Wantagh Public Library, was a judge this year for the first time. She said she believes the pageant is still around and growing because young women are willing to compete. She added that it is a “sign of how community-service-orientated the Wantagh community is.”

Fred Parola, a board member for the Fourth of July Association, also thanked Stevens for her hard work organizing the event, saying, “Ella Stevens has elevated Miss Wantagh to another level.”