Miss America contestants kick up some fun at Show Us Your Shoes Parade in Atlantic City, Miss Fit, Miss Behave, Miss Understood and the rest of their all-girl crew of spectators stood on the Atlantic City boardwalk yesterday, beaming.
"This is special,'' said Jane Grossi, who wore a makeshift sash that read "Miss Take.'' "She finally came back.''
Behind her, the Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade rolled and rollicked its way down the world's most famous boardwalk, the 53 pageant contestants flashing footwear that would make Imelda Marcos swoon.
There was Allison Cook, Miss Oregon, with her knee-high cow boots with googly eyes on the toes.
A giant green cactus seemed to grow out of the shoes of Miss Arizona, Jennifer Smestad, while Miss New Jersey, Cara McCollum, wore starfish, oyster pearl and seashell-studded pumps to go with her mermaid costume.
"Nice to see you, Miss Massachusetts,'' Dennis Kelly of Brigantine shouted good-naturedly. "Hey, Miss Minnesota, how are you?''
Miss Maine, Kristin Korda, rocked lobsters on her shoes, while Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, sported gator-shaped shoes adorned with 2,268 rhinestones.
The kooky shoes and outlandish outfits were the fashion highlight yesterday, but the overall parade turned out to be a spectacle perhaps unequalled in pageant history.
Executive producer John M. Best had promised a show that would "blow away'' the audience, and it delivered, with 14 marching bands, 49 dancing groups, 14 floats and 16 choirs performing on the parade's nearly 2-mile route down the Atlantic City boardwalk before an estimated 200,000 people.
There were 10 major production numbers featuring a 500-member choir, Kool and the Gang, the Eagles cheerleaders, and 350 performers. There was even a "Show Us Your Shoes'' theme song, a first, which Best described as an "upbeat, fun'' tune.
"It's Broadway, it's musical theater presented on a boardwalk on the ocean,'' Best said. "It's the most unique show we've ever put on.''
The Show Us Your Shoes Parade is an Atlantic City original; in 1972, spectators on balconies along New York Avenue spotted pageant contestants after rehearsals and shouted, "Show us your shoes!''
The women could not comply; they were wearing slippers to rest their weary feet.
"The next year the girls got smart,'' Best said. "They started designing shoes and it caught on. They're the ones who created (the event). This didn't come from anywhere else, this didn't come from any other city.''
Best's TV production and directing credits include 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas parades; the Academy Awards; and the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2002 Olympic Games, but he's never done a parade devoted to footwear. This one required 300-plus production meetings and the help of 500 local volunteers.
"It's the best tradition in Atlantic City,'' said Kathy O'Brien of Brigantine, who started coming to the parade as a teen.
"I don't watch the pageant; I could care less,'' said her friend, Bethany Derrickson, also of Brigantine. "I watch this.''
The contestants, getting a chance to literally kick up their heels after arduous, nerve-wracking rehearsals and preliminary competitions, slowly rolled down the boardwalk in their Maseratis, BMWs and Caddies, resting feet on windshields or just raising their legs in the air.
Tessa Dee, Miss South Dakota, wore S&M headmistress-worthy thigh-high boots that would probably guarantee her a role in the movie version of "Fifty Shades of Grey.''
Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, captured bright lights, big city with canvas-covered pumps showing the Big Apple's iconic sights, complete with flashing LED lights.
Miss Texas, Ivana Hall, wore -- what else? -- cowboy boots, made in Mexico.
Annie Rosellini -- Miss Pennsylvania -- seemed more excited about her outfit (she described it as "Crop top with hot pants! Sleeved jacket with awesome feather tufts that dangle!'') than her shoes, ultra-high heels with the American flag fashioned from red, white and blue beads.
The crowd favorite may have been the one who wore the plainest footwear. Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, sported zero accessories and add-ons, if you don't count dirt and sand. Vail wore her 6-year-old military boots and army fatigues; she's in the state National Guard.
"With these boots,'' she said on an parade application form, "I am trying to say I can handle anything.''
Which apparently includes the notoriety of being the first Miss America contestant to sport tattoos.
The parade wound past Boardwalk Hall to Albany Avenue (Route 40) on a glorious late-summer day that seemed perfect for the return of a queen, and a tradition.
"What a beautiful day for Atlantic City,'' said Patti Carr of Voorhees. "Miss America is back."
"This is special,'' said Jane Grossi, who wore a makeshift sash that read "Miss Take.'' "She finally came back.''
Behind her, the Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade rolled and rollicked its way down the world's most famous boardwalk, the 53 pageant contestants flashing footwear that would make Imelda Marcos swoon.
There was Allison Cook, Miss Oregon, with her knee-high cow boots with googly eyes on the toes.
A giant green cactus seemed to grow out of the shoes of Miss Arizona, Jennifer Smestad, while Miss New Jersey, Cara McCollum, wore starfish, oyster pearl and seashell-studded pumps to go with her mermaid costume.
"Nice to see you, Miss Massachusetts,'' Dennis Kelly of Brigantine shouted good-naturedly. "Hey, Miss Minnesota, how are you?''
Miss Maine, Kristin Korda, rocked lobsters on her shoes, while Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, sported gator-shaped shoes adorned with 2,268 rhinestones.
The kooky shoes and outlandish outfits were the fashion highlight yesterday, but the overall parade turned out to be a spectacle perhaps unequalled in pageant history.
Executive producer John M. Best had promised a show that would "blow away'' the audience, and it delivered, with 14 marching bands, 49 dancing groups, 14 floats and 16 choirs performing on the parade's nearly 2-mile route down the Atlantic City boardwalk before an estimated 200,000 people.
There were 10 major production numbers featuring a 500-member choir, Kool and the Gang, the Eagles cheerleaders, and 350 performers. There was even a "Show Us Your Shoes'' theme song, a first, which Best described as an "upbeat, fun'' tune.
"It's Broadway, it's musical theater presented on a boardwalk on the ocean,'' Best said. "It's the most unique show we've ever put on.''
The Show Us Your Shoes Parade is an Atlantic City original; in 1972, spectators on balconies along New York Avenue spotted pageant contestants after rehearsals and shouted, "Show us your shoes!''
The women could not comply; they were wearing slippers to rest their weary feet.
"The next year the girls got smart,'' Best said. "They started designing shoes and it caught on. They're the ones who created (the event). This didn't come from anywhere else, this didn't come from any other city.''
Best's TV production and directing credits include 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas parades; the Academy Awards; and the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2002 Olympic Games, but he's never done a parade devoted to footwear. This one required 300-plus production meetings and the help of 500 local volunteers.
"It's the best tradition in Atlantic City,'' said Kathy O'Brien of Brigantine, who started coming to the parade as a teen.
"I don't watch the pageant; I could care less,'' said her friend, Bethany Derrickson, also of Brigantine. "I watch this.''
The contestants, getting a chance to literally kick up their heels after arduous, nerve-wracking rehearsals and preliminary competitions, slowly rolled down the boardwalk in their Maseratis, BMWs and Caddies, resting feet on windshields or just raising their legs in the air.
Tessa Dee, Miss South Dakota, wore S&M headmistress-worthy thigh-high boots that would probably guarantee her a role in the movie version of "Fifty Shades of Grey.''
Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, captured bright lights, big city with canvas-covered pumps showing the Big Apple's iconic sights, complete with flashing LED lights.
Miss Texas, Ivana Hall, wore -- what else? -- cowboy boots, made in Mexico.
Annie Rosellini -- Miss Pennsylvania -- seemed more excited about her outfit (she described it as "Crop top with hot pants! Sleeved jacket with awesome feather tufts that dangle!'') than her shoes, ultra-high heels with the American flag fashioned from red, white and blue beads.
The crowd favorite may have been the one who wore the plainest footwear. Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, sported zero accessories and add-ons, if you don't count dirt and sand. Vail wore her 6-year-old military boots and army fatigues; she's in the state National Guard.
"With these boots,'' she said on an parade application form, "I am trying to say I can handle anything.''
Which apparently includes the notoriety of being the first Miss America contestant to sport tattoos.
The parade wound past Boardwalk Hall to Albany Avenue (Route 40) on a glorious late-summer day that seemed perfect for the return of a queen, and a tradition.
"What a beautiful day for Atlantic City,'' said Patti Carr of Voorhees. "Miss America is back."
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