Friday, November 26th 2021, 9:39 pm
The Miss USA Preliminary Competition is happening this weekend at the River Spirit Casino Resort.
This is the qualifying round to see who will make it to the finals of the pageant.
"We've been working for months just to get to this point, but to finally be here, it's just surreal,” said Elle Smith, Miss Kentucky USA.
Months of preparation and hours of group rehearsals all lead up to Friday night.
Prelims are the first round, including swimsuit and evening gown competitions. The interview portion is on Saturday.
Only 16 girls from both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA will make it to the finals.
"It's a lot of mental preparation, a lot of interview preparation, physical, wardrobe, styling, walking practice. There's so much that goes into it really discovering and rediscovering who you are as a person,” said Sasha Perea, Miss District of Columbia USA.
Traveling from every state in the country, the ladies said they've had the chance to experience Tulsa's culture and history.
This week, a few current and former contestants visited the Gathering Place, and they all toured the Greenwood District and served food at Iron Gate.
"I absolutely love the city of Tulsa, but what I love even more are the people here. They have the biggest hearts,” said Gracie Hunt, Miss Kansas USA.
"We've been having tears of joy, a bunch of laughter, bonding, fun, exciting events all week. We've very, very grateful to be competing,” said Sabrina Lewis, Miss California USA.
No matter who is crowned the winner, the contestants say being on the stage is a dream come true.
"From the moment that we got to see the stage for the first time, to the moment that we got to introduce ourselves as our state, it's all magic and these are things that you can only experience one time in your life so we're really soaking it up,” said Madison Bryant, Miss North Carolina USA.
You can watch the Miss USA Finals live on Monday night on Hulu.
If you want to watch in person, there are still tickets available.
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