FAIRHOPE, Ala.(January 15, 2025)– The Eastern Shore Optimist Club will host its 65th annual Dogwood Trail Pageant at the Fairhope Civic Center on January 18, 2025, at 7 p.m.
An Eastern Shore tradition, the pageant will select eight participants to serve on the 2025 Dogwood Trail Court. The court aims to spread optimism through. the community using the optimist creed: “Promise Yourself To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet………”
Fairhope High School senior Karlee Lambert, 2024 yellow Dogwood Trail Court Member, went through the program twice and was selected her second year. “Dogwood has shaped me to learn more about myself and has given me great time management skills,” Lambert said.
Beginning in October, 45 sophomore and junior girls from all over Baldwin County practice twice a week on skills and the opening number to prepare for the pageant. They wrote an essay on a given topic, and will go through an interview process, create and perform a skit onstage, and walk in an evening gown showing off their poise and appearance. Out-of-state judges select the court to create a fair competition for all participants.The top fourteen must answer an onstage question. From the fourteen, a final eight will be named 2025 Dogwood Trail Court.
The court appears at public events to interact and serve the community with kindness. Their dresses are large and colorful, specially made according to the court’s size with a new design of the dress every year. There are six colors the Dogwood Trail Court committee chooses from to give each court member a specific color. The court will receive the color the day after the pageant at a reception. The induction ceremony for the new court will take place during the annual Arts and Crafts Festival in downtown Fairhope, March 15, where the court will showcase their new dresses for the first time.
In-person tickets are sold out, but you can watch the pageant on the Dogwood Trail Court YouTube channel and Facebook where they will broadcast the pageant live with a host and commentary.
# # #
Optimist International Foundation (OIF) was established in 1971 exclusively for the charitable, literary, and educational purposes of Optimist International, a community service-based organization committed to creating a more optimistic future for young people through innovative programs. The Foundation has grown since 1971 and is recognized as a not-for-profit charitable organization. Optimist International Foundation depends on the support from Optimist Clubs and individual Members, the general public, businesses, and corporations.
