Starfire Pageeants
Hi Ladies...it's Carrie Crawford again:-) I am the former owner of Starfire Pageants, the company who produced the Pretty Little Princess Pageant. There seems to be a bit of confusion here, and I just wanted to take a minute to clear some of it up. If you question the validity of this posting, please feel free to email me at my personal email, [email protected], or at the company email, [email protected].
Sadly yes...after 16 wonderful years...Starfire Pageants did go out of business in 2009. And it was devastating to me. We had one pageant after another that year that lost money, and I finally had to accept the fact that the economy just wasn't going to support such a "luxury" item, when people were losing jobs left and right, and worrying about how they were going to put food on the table. I closed the business, took a step back, and reflected on the things that I loved about it the most, and of course, it was all the sweet little girls in their pretty pink dresses. They were a part of me. Then I thought about how many kids would never have the opportunity to participate because they couldn't afford it, and my mind started racing about how awesome it would be if we could team with agencies that work with underprivileged children (Like Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, ect.) and offer Scholarships to some of their girls. It didn't happen overnight...I had do do a lot of research, and the application process through the IRS was pretty intense. We did finally get the approval, (we are a 501 (c) (3) corp. Tax ID #26-4781996) and held our very first "Pretty Little Princess Pageant" as a non profit in December of 2010. Chemistrylover is right...non profits can not have an "owner". I am not the owner...I am simply the organizer. We've only had a few events so far, but it's been a wonderful feeling to be back doing what I love, and to be able to brighten the lives of little girls who might not otherwise be able to afford a pageant. We've worked closely with the Boys and Girls Club, and have provided Scholarships, money for new dresses, shoes, ect, and that has been really rewarding. I was devastated when the pageant collapsed in 2009...I honestly thought I would be doing this forever. But if that hadn't happened, I may never have come up with the idea for the non profit aspect, and I know that there are a LOT of little girls who wouldn't have a pretty trophy sitting on their dresser right now, so I have to believe that everything happens for a reason.
I had no idea that this blog was still here...we're doing an event in Las Vegas in April, so I was updating our website, and wanted to see what came up when I googled. Thank you for all the nice words to all the nice people who said them. Some of the other stuff on here is a little crazy! I had to giggle when I read the crack about us selling popcorn and candy. Wow. Anyway...once more...just for the record...$20 application fee...$95 entry fee...Tickets $10 adults, $5 kids (same price since 1993) . Tee shirts and tiaras of you want them...no popcorn or candy:-)
As far as the comment directly above, saying that we're "on the verge of collapse", well, that's simply not true. We're being cautious. Our biggest expense is the printing and postage of the direct mail piece. (application/brochure.) That money has to be paid UP FRONT, along with the hotel fees. Even if we got a low turnout, we would still hold the pageant, because all of our money has already been spent, and it would be better to get SOME entry fees, than none at all. Starfire Pageants did over 300 pageants. There was NEVER an instance where we canceled one Pageant. Toward the end...when every one of them was losing money because of the economy, I used every cent I owned trying to save it, and yea...MY credit took a hit, but that's not something I feel I need to go into great detail with the whole world.
Our goal is to eventually be able to do a pageant in a different city every month, but for now, we're only doing a few a year. We are very proud of the work we're doing, and hope to be able to continue doing it for many years to come. Pageants are taking kind of a hit right now with all the Toddlers and Tiara's controversy, but we're going to just keep doing our best to produce a Pageant that is beautiful, makes little girls feel like a Princess, and celebrates the beauty and innocence of childhood. Be nice to each other out there moms...we're all setting an example for our girls here! Goodnight...Hope to see you soon!
