Diamond Daze pageants return as festival highlight

There are few events that warm the heart as much as little boys and girls dressed to the nines, confidently strutting their stuff or bashfully wondering why onlookers are oohing and aahing.

That’s why the Diamond Daze pageants are making an encore return this year as one of the biggest attractions of the weekend.

“This will be a big deal,” says Robin Akers of the Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber Executive Director Marty Green agrees: “That is a big deal.”

Akers has already had numerous inquiries, and she refers them to pageant director Deree Stafford.

“I think the pageant will be huge again. We’re excited about the pageant. We’re fortunate, we have a really good coordinator for that, Deree Stafford. It’s going to be a neat deal. I’m really excited,” Green says. He said more than 700 flyers have been distributed to Sallisaw and Brushy elementary students, and Stafford has already received lots of feedback and interest.

The Diamond Daze pageants were created to give the younger children in the community a way to be involved.

The pageants offer seven different age-group categories for girls, and four for boys — 12-23 months, 2-3 years, 4-6 years and 7-9 years for boys and girls, and then girls only for 10-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-19 years for Miss Diamond Daze.

Trinity Raine Cox, Miss Diamond Daze 2024

Trinity Raine Cox, a junior at Sallisaw, was crowned the first-ever Miss Diamond Daze last year when eight pageants debuted at the annual downtown festival.

During her reign, Miss Diamond Daze represents the festival at various other events and activities throughout the year.

“It’s open to the world. If they want to be Miss Diamond Daze, come on down,” Green says. “But if it’s a local person that can be at our events and activities, we hope to involve them throughout the year. I see a lot of potential in this, I really do. I think it will grow.

“This is something patterned off of things Deree’s done before, so we welcome her expertise and let her be in charge,” Green says.

“I get many questions about what is acceptable to wear at Miss Diamond Daze,” Stafford says. “Many of us have seen ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ or ‘Honey Boo-Boo.’ These are glitz pageant dresses, and they are very expensive.

“Diamond Daze is not a glitz pageant system. Anything that is not a glitz dress will be acceptable. I say ‘Sunday best,’ because that is a general term often used. Remember, the girl walks the dress, the dress doesn’t walk the girl. The judges understand this and know what to look for in a contestant no matter what they are wearing. If your child feels pretty and confident, it will show on the stage. If you’re not sure, send me a picture. I’m here to help. Older age divisions may wear a pageant gown, prom or crowning dress,” Stafford says.

Boys have it easier, Stafford admits. “Anything they wear is acceptable.”

Stafford says sponsors have stepped up this year, “which means more cash prizes and titles,” but she is still accepting donations from businesses to help with gift bags or contestants that can’t afford the pageant entry fee.

Miss Diamond Daze 2025 will receive a large cash prize, Stafford says, and each contestant will receive a certificate and gift bag this year.

Diamond Daze is May 2-3, and the pageants are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 3 at Stage Park.

Meet the judges

Judges for the pageants are Natasha Christie, Dr. Randy Smith and Dora Smith.

• Christie was raised in a small reservation community called Bell, and has lived in the Stilwell area all her life. Her love for pageants began during her preteen years when she started competing in local pageants. She expanded into larger pageants, and captured the crown of Little Miss Oklahoma. She holds several other titles, her favorites being Stilwell’s coveted Strawberry Princess and Rodeo Queen. She studied organizational leadership at Oklahoma State University. She is employed with the Cherokee Nation as its youth coordinator, and is a board member of the Stilwell Chamber of Commerce and the Stilwell Kiwanis Club. Christie and her husband run a small cattle operation, where they enjoy escaping from their busy lives to embrace the simple life.

• Randy Smith is a member of the Choctaw Tribe of Oklahoma. He’s been involved in senior leadership positions for more than 26 years, having served as a tribal administrator/ CEO of a federally recognized tribe. He has served as a college president at two institutions, and served as president of the largest organization of rural colleges in the U.S. He also served as vice president and dean, and senior advisor on policy to a federally recognized tribe, and chairman of a hospital board of directors. He has many years of experience in senior leadership and administration positions as well as extensive experience in policy work in Washington, D.C. He is recipient of the USDA Lincoln Honor Award, the highest award presented by the USDA, for his many years of work in rural America.

Smith served as a judge for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant in Las Vegas, and has coached rodeo queens and contestants from across the nation. He has judged several state and local pageants. His daughter, Emily, was a Miss Rodeo Oklahoma State titleholder, and currently serves as Miss Northwest Oklahoma and will compete for Miss Oklahoma in June. Smith lives near Sallisaw, where he enjoys his acreage, livestock and rural lifestyle, and participates in Native American cultural activities.

• Randy’s wife, Dora, works for the City of Fort Smith in the accounts payable office. She previously worked for many years in the Tulsa County Assessor’s office, and is a licensed real estate agent. She enjoys home improvement projects, cooking and working around her home and land, as well as golfing, bowling, riding her horses and ATVs. She is a huge OSU fan, and loves watching college athletics.