Nearly 100 girls and young women competed in last year’s Miss Chilton County beauty pageant in July, but they’ll have to wait a few more months to stretch those smiles ear-to-ear in 2010.

The Clanton Evening Lions Club has moved the 21st annual contest to the first weekend in November instead of July.

Club secretary Irby Fanning said they would sponsor this month’s Miss Alabama Agriculture Pageant to be held on July 31 at Chilton County High School. Practice will take place on July 30. Taking on the extra pageant influenced their decision to move the Miss Chilton County contest.

Also playing a role is the Evening Lions Club’s participation in the East-West all-star baseball tournament, where they volunteer to run concessions to benefit Alabama Sight last May.

The group also hopes to provide some separation between their pageant and the Miss Peach pageants held in June. The Miss Chilton County pageant will likely still be held at its normal venue, the Chilton County High School auditorium.

The pageant has four categories: Little Miss (ages 5-7), Young Miss (8-12), Junior Miss (13-16) and Miss (17-24).

Allison Nicole Cobb won the 2009 Miss Chilton County title.

The first ever to wear the crown was Hilary Littlejohn Blakely in 1989, when there was only one category.

Starting in 1992, Miss Chilton County became a preliminary for the Miss Alabama Agriculture pageant. The first and only to go on and capture that title for Chilton County was Roslyn Gore Driver in 1996.

All winners who advance to the state level represent the Chilton County Farmers Federation and ALFA.