BY CARL MIZE

Three new titleholders were crowned at the 57th Annual Carolina Dogwood Festival Pageant in Statesville on Saturday evening. A near capacity crowd attended the pageant, which was held in Mitchell Community College’s Shearer Hall.

Ms. Carolina Dogwood 2025 Suzi Fire served as the emcee for the pageant, which included three different age divisions.

Teen Princess

Chloe Elliot was crowned the Carolina Dogwood Teen Princess for 2026.

Elliot was also named the photogenic winner and the fitness award winner. She performed a contemporary dance to Zach Bryan’s “Dawns.” She was crowned by 2025 Teen Princess Sarah O’Connell.

Roseila Sommer was the first runner-up and talent winner; second runner-up was Lillie Shew; and third runner-up was Abigail Poe.

The contestants competed in interview, fitness, talent, and evening gown/onstage question.

Ms. Dogwood Queen

Miranda Crisp was named Ms. Carolina Dogwood for 2026. She gave a presentation on the therapeutic advantages of flower arranging.

Shaleigh Bandy, who won the talent award, was first runner-up; second runner-up was Kayla Surratt and third runner-up was Brandy Templeton.

The contestants in this division compete in interview, evening gown/onstage question, and a fun category called Pretty in Pink. The talent category was optional.

Carolina Dogwood Festival Queen 

After competing in interview, swimsuit, talent, and evening gown/onstage question, Ava Effler was crowned the 2026 Carolina Dogwood Festival Queen. 

In the talent competition, she performed a vocal rendition of Mariah Carey’s “Nothing is Impossible.” She was the winner of the swimsuit and talent categories. In addition, she was voted Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants.

She was crowned by 2025 titleholder, Erika Bullard.

First runner-up was Karsyn Layne; second runner-up was Angelique Carico; and third runner-up was Olivia Krause.

Special Guests

Special guests included local and festival queens from across North Carolina, including Miss Statesville Amber Potts. She is currently preparing to represent Statesville in the upcoming Miss North Carolina Pageant.

Special Presentation

Retiring Queen Kaitlyn Sparks received an on-stage surprise during her farewell when Arthur Stevenson took to the stage, dropped to one knee and proposed marriage to Sparks. The audience erupted into applause as she said yes.

Photos