Girls will perform, boys will dress up

By Theresa Knapp

This year’s Best Buddies Sweetheart Pageant will take place on Friday, April 28, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Milford High School auditorium. The event is free and the public is invited. 

The annual beauty and talent pageant is a time for MHS students with intellectual disabilities to showcase their talents. It started in 2014 after a female student with an intellectual disability at the time wanted to be in a pageant but there was not an opportunity for her to do so. A group of students in the Best Buddies program decided to create such an opportunity. 

The current Best Buddies club has 125 students. 

Club Co-President Vedi Raval says, “It gets to show off their talents and who they are. A lot of the time kids with intellectual disabilities feel excluded from the rest of the school in a way. The pageant is a way for them to show off how special they are.” 

Each year the boys and girls rotate between showcasing a talent in the pageant or dressing up in a way that reflects that year’s theme. The2023 theme is Mythology. 

This year the girls will perform and the boys will dress up in costumes such as Hercules, Zeus, and Percy Jackson; and the school will be decorated with the mythology theme. 

Past performances have included guitar riffs, singing, dancing, tricks, basketball dribbles, and Lego® building.  

“It’s a pretty exciting day,” says club Co-President Tessa Scrimgeour. “There are some really creative talents.” 

Last year, club Vice President Eddie Hough helped out backstage. “It’s kind of fun to be with them before they go on stage, they’re so excited. It’s fun to watch everyone do their thing and show off for a crowd, they don’t get that opportunity anyplace else…and the performances were really awesome!” 

The event is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Admission is free but there will be raffle baskets and other opportunities to mke donations at the event. Pageant proceeds will help cover costs for activities like pumpkin decorating and gingerbread house kits; and will help defray costs associated with trips to the Providence Bruins, Woo Sox, a movie theater, and more. 

Club Advisor Dean Draycott said he joined the club last year because “I like hanging out with friends and making connections with people.” 

Hough also joined last year. “It’s really cool that I’m making an impact and am part of the reason these kids look forward to events and feel like they have a friend.” 

Raval said she enjoys being in the club because “It makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger than myself…I have known a lot of these students for a long time.” 

Scrimgeour has been in the club for four years. “My favorite part is being able to have a safe and non-judgmental space for everyone. I love going to the dances every month. They are truly the best people you will ever meet, and you get to express yourself and be surrounded by people with positivity and love.”  

Special education teacher Nathan Gaucher, one of the club’s three advisors says, “This club prepares all students for how we want to view the real world, with love, acceptance and kindness; and we hope that it spreads to everyone who comes in contact with our club.”

Organizers are also seeking community sponsors and donations of any kind, including raffle basket items, gift cards, and time and service to help make the pageant a success. 

For more information, contact Alexis Forgit at [email protected]