Miss USA Hopefuls Arrive in Las Vegas

The 2013 Miss USA Pageant hopefuls starts arriving today at  Planet Hollywood.  They have a  busy weekend of wardrobe fittings for swimsuits and gowns and then on Monday  start a rigorous schedule of filming and interviews with judges.

The Quad headliners Recycled Percussion will welcome the  hopefuls Monday at the hotel’s Catalyst Bar, with Miss New  Hampshire taking part in a flair bartender challenge. On Tuesday, they re-create  iconic country hairstyles to film at Toby Keith’s I  Love This Bar & Grill in Harrah’s with a line-dancing contest.  Reigning 2012 Miss USA Nana Meriwether hosts next Thursday’s  paddleboard racing challenge at Go Pool in Flamingo, with contestants in their  new ViX swimsuits.

Party time is set for Chateau Nightclub at the Paris next  Friday, and then June 12 is the first preliminary competition at PH  Live in Planet Hollywood. The live NBC telecast with pageant owner Donald Trump is Sunday, June 16 (Father’s Day), with hosts Giuliana Rancic and Nick Jonas, who will be  joined by his brothers Joe and Kevin as  entertainment. Jeannie Mai from The Style Network will provide  live backstage dressing room mayhem commentaries during the telecast. The judges  will be announced next week.

The contestants will fulfill charitable commitments while in Las Vegas for Best Buddies, with a musical performance by our beloved Opportunity Village Elvis and a parachute challenge. The pageant  queens will pack meals for Stop Hunger Now and also to benefit  the food situation deteriorating in Haiti.

Fans of the pageant can vote for their favorite contestants right up until  the night before the broadcast at MissUSA.com or at the Miss  USA Facebook page. For the first time, there also will be an Instagram challenge  with fans submitting their own “crowning moment” photos. The traditional Miss  USA welcome dinner will be at Buca di Beppo just off the Strip  next Wednesday.

Courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun