Miss AuSable River Festival

Miss AuSable River Festival Scholarship Program

The Miss AuSable River Festival Endowment program is a scholarship-focused pageant intended to empower young ladies in Crawford County. The pageant and crowning of the titleholders take place during the AuSable River Festival on the Main Stage at Michigan Avenue & Peninsular in downtown Grayling.

The program organizers firmly believe in scoring the contestants based on the content and quality of their being, not based on cosmetic appearances or qualities. The court will be adjudicated by secret panels throughout their week of volunteering with the AuSable River Festival and during activities with the AuSable River Canoe Marathon, in a private interview, and in an on-stage competition.

The organizing committee has developed a mission to support the growth and empowerment of young women in the area with a reminiscence to former pageant competitions that took place in Grayling, specifically Miss Grayling and Junior Miss. In 2024, we were able to award over $7,000 in scholarships to our contestants!

We have four contestant categories for the 2025 program: Princess Program, Little Miss AuSable River Festival, Junior Miss AuSable River Festival, and Miss AuSable River Festival. Review and download the contestant packet to learn more about the expectations, involvement, and requirements of each category.

Download the Contestant Packet Here

Princess Program

The Princess program is not a judged competition. The Princess program is designed for elementary school girls who are still discovering who they are and what is important to them. All princesses will be crowned as a AuSable River Festival Princesses on the stage during the pageant!

Junior Miss Program

This is a judged level of the competition. The focus for Juniors is on learning to express themselves and celebrate their individuality. This is age level is for those entering 5th through 8th grade.

Little Miss Program

The Little Miss level is designed for younger participants in the program who feel prepared to take on the judged competition aspect of the pageant. This is age level is for those entering 2nd through 5th grade.

Miss Program

This is a judged phase of the competition. The contestants performances on stage are evaluated by our panel of esteemed judges based on communication skills, presentation, thoughtfulness, and community awareness. The scoring systems divisions differ, with higher expectations for the Miss contestants in terms of community service and their ability to articulate who they are and what matters to them. This age level is for those entering 9th grade, but not to exceed age 20 within their reign.