Miss Mississippi, Miss Mississippi’s Teen begin Miss America competition this week

ORLANDO, Fla. (VDN) — Mississippi will be represented on the national stage this week as Miss Mississippi Anna Leah Jolly and Miss Mississippi’s Teen Avery McNair compete for national titles at the Miss America competition in Orlando. Preliminary rounds for Miss Teen America begin Tuesday, Sept. 2, with Miss America preliminaries starting Wednesday, Sept. 3.

“From preliminaries to finals, your encouragement means the world,” Jolly said in a statement. “Watch, share, and join me on this journey as I represent Mississippi and live Limitless on the Miss America stage.”

McNair also expressed excitement, in a statement on the Miss Mississippi’s Teen page, “Checked in and ready to get this week started. I had the BEST time getting to see all of these sweet faces and getting ready for this once in a lifetime week!”

Miss America Competition Schedule

• Sept. 2, 7 p.m. EST: Teen preliminary competition
• Sept. 3, 7 p.m. EST: Miss preliminary competition
• Sept. 4, 5:30 p.m. EST: Teen talent competition
• Sept. 4, 7:30 p.m. EST: Miss talent competition
• Sept. 5, 7 p.m. EST: Miss America Red Carpet
• Sept. 5, 8 p.m. EST: It’s Miss America’s World gala
• Sept. 5, 9:30 p.m. EST: Show Us Your Shoes fashion event
• Sept. 6, 7 p.m. EST: Teen finals
• Sept. 7, 7 p.m. EST: Miss finals

The finals of the Miss America 2026 competition will stream free on the Miss America YouTube channel and on PageantVision.com.