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An all-gender beauty pageant is coming to Greenpoint
By
Ryan Kailath
Published Feb 7, 2025
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Courtesy of Brooklyn Community Kitchen
By
Ryan Kailath
Published Feb 7, 2025
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Princess Manor is Greenpoint's perfectly named sweet 16 and quinceañera capital – and on Feb. 27, it will host an all-gender beauty pageant raising funds for Brooklyn Community Kitchen, a local nonprofit.
BCK takes food that would otherwise be thrown out from photo shoots, office events and restaurants, and makes it fresh with salads, soups, sandwiches and more for sit-down meals in Greenpoint.
Executive Director Cassidy Andrews said they’ve been providing weekly meals for more than 30 years, but incorporated as a nonprofit in 2020 and expanded into a takeout “meals on wheels” model as well.
As for the all-gender pageant?
“There’ll be an intro, a talent portion, then formalwear, which segues into a Q&A, followed by judge’s deliberation,” said organizer Thomas Tomczak, a Greenpoint native who has been volunteering with BCK for nine years.
Co-organizer Simone Tetteh, who has volunteered with BCK for 10 years, stressed that “formalwear,” like all aspects of the pageant, is open to the contestant’s interpretation.
“Traditionally, the medium of beauty pageant includes a really narrow demographic, so it’s fun to put no restrictions on it other than 18 and up,” Tomczak said.
They are actively encouraging participants in their 80s and up to apply for the pageant, he said.
“It’s important for us to represent all genders, which is also reflective of our community as well as the amazing folks who volunteer with us,” Tetteh said.
The pair said that the interest from potential contestants has been overwhelming and they’ll have difficulty narrowing the field to 12 contestants for the final show. The judging lineup is still being finalized and they are still confirming “local celebrities” including comedians and drag queens.
The venue is a long-standing Greenpoint institution, just off McCarren Park, that “the entire neighborhood knows about but which few people have been inside,” Tetteh said.
“It’s really exciting to open the doors to people who aren’t normally going to Sweet 16s and office parties,” she said.
The all-gender beauty pageant at Princess Manor is on Thursday Feb. 27. Tickets are $30 and available here.
Tagged
beauty
brooklyn
Ryan Kailath
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