Meet the winners of this year’s Apple Dumpling Pageant: Maille McNicholas, Gianna Turner and Colbie Long.
Held nightly during the Festival, the Apple Dumpling Pageant remains a tradition that gives girls in Berks the chance to compete in a fun, but casual, event. The pageant consists of three parts: a formal wear competition, a personal interview, and a summer fun wear competition. The girls are judged on personality, connection with the audience, stage presence and overall appearance.
Maille McNicholas
Maille McNicholas, Teen Miss Apple Dumping 2021
Maille McNicholas, 14, began competing in pageants at age 8 and feels honored to be the reigning Teen Miss Apple Dumpling 2021. When competing in pageants, Maille’s favorite part is “probably the experience and meeting new people and making friends.” An honor roll student, Maille will enter ninth grade at Twin Valley High School this fall and looks forward to art class.
Born with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS), a rare genetic illness, Maille has a large birthmark, swelling, venous malformations and limb overgrowth in her right leg. Because of this, Maille constantly works to bring awareness to vascular birthmarks and serves as a Global Ambassador for the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation. She runs an organization called Maille’s Mission which brings awareness to vascular birthmarks and to promote anti-bullying in support of those with similar conditions. Additionally, Maille created a podcast titled More than A Birthmark. In the podcast she interviews those with similar conditions to discuss their experiences in order to reach a bigger audience and further bring awareness to the conditions.
Maille often spends time volunteering and has worked with Helping Harvest, Love of a Veteran, and many other organizations. She loves to dance competitively and work on DIY arts and crafts. This month (July, 2021) Maille will compete in The National United States Scholarship Pageant for the title of Miss Jr. High United States.
Apple Dumpling Pageant winners
Gianna Turner, Junior Miss Apple Dumpling 2021
Gianna Turner, 12, first began competing in the Apple Dumpling Pageant in 2016 and was honored to win her first title this year. “I almost didn’t realize my name was called. It was very exciting and unbelievable,” says Gianna. The experience of meeting new people and expressing herself on stage are some of Gianna’s favorite aspects of pageants. Going into seventh grade this fall, Gianna remains most excited for science and social studies classes. She loves to stay active and plays many sports, including volleyball, lacrosse and field hockey. She also enjoys horseback riding with her two horses, Kai and Mickey.
When Gianna is not competing or staying active, she enjoys acting and rescuing dogs. Gianna has been an extra in a few films and has starred as the main character in two small productions. She loves to see everything that happens behind the scenes. Gianna spends much of her time rescuing dogs and volunteering with PA Pit Stop. When Gianna gets older, she wants to work with animal rescue or run a doggy daycare so she can always be surrounded by animals.
Colbie Long, Little Miss Apple Dumpling 2021
Colbie, 5, had previously competed in the Apple Dumpling Pageant in 2019 and was quite excited to win Little Miss Apple Dumpling 2021 for the first time. Colbie always has a lot of fun during the pageant, saying, “I like dressing up,” as well as waving to the crowd. After the pageant, Colbie enjoys riding the attractions at the festival. This year Colbie will enter first grade at Daniel Boone Elementary School and she’s excited for gym class.
An adventurous and fearless girl, Colbie loves trying new things. Her newest upcoming adventure will be playing soccer. Always staying active, Colbie loves to run around and plays field hockey and enjoys swimming. Colbie is also an avid dancer with Next Step Studio performing both tap and ballet. In her free time, Colbie watches some of her favorite shows, including Peppa the Pig, Blue’s Clues and Disney Princess films. She also enjoys playing with her dog, Bentley, and snuggling with her cat, Sammi. Colbie is looking forward to enjoying her summer and plans to stay very busy.
