ROYAL CITY — Two girls from Royal City participated in the 2nd annual Miss Shining Star Pageant in Prosser on Feb. 6.

The Shining Star Pageant was started in 2015 to give “differently-abled” girls ages kindergarten to 25 a chance to shine, according to pageant founder and director Rene Martinez.

Last year the pageant had 16 participants. This year participation doubled, and 32 girls from all over Washington state took the stage.

Although pajamas aren’t typical pageant attire, they were perfectly in fashion for Shining Star. The participants wore pajamas as they introduced themselves.

Then “buddies” backstage helped them change into their formal gowns, which they wore while answering a question.

Participants were asked to participate in a community service project in which they collected new pajamas. A total of 632 pajamas were collected and will be donated to Ronald McDonald House and Children’s hospital.

The Royal representatives this year were Gladys Orozco (left), 17, and Taysha Snyder (right), 18. Both are Royal High students. Both participated last year.

There were more than 450 people in attendance and 50 volunteers. If you would like more information on the pageant, you may email the director, Rene Martinez, at paboatdoc@Hotmail.com.