Nia Imani Franklin, who was crowned Miss Capital City on The Clayton Center stage in 2016 and went on to be crowned Miss America this past September, will be returning for a special visit to Clayton on March 2, 2019.
Former Johnston County Commissioner and Miss Capital City Pageant Committee Member Keith Branch made the big announcement at the Clayton Town Council meeting Monday night. Miss America is returning to Clayton for the 2019 crowning of Miss Clayton, Miss Cleveland and Miss Capital City which will take place that Saturday night, March 2, at 6:30 p.m.
Nia Franklin was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is a graduate of East Carolina University and UNC’s School of the Arts, earning a master’s in music composition. After being awarded a Kenan Fellowship at New York’s Lincoln Center Education, she moved to the Big Apple, where she went on to be crowned Miss New York and then earned the Miss America title.
For the past 7 years, The Clayton Center in Downtown Clayton has hosted the pageants. They are the official local triple preliminaries associated with moving on to the Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant and Miss America competitions, which list themselves as the largest scholarship-providing organization for women in the world. With an emphasis on academics and communication skills, the Miss Clayton, Miss Cleveland & Miss Capital City Scholarship Pageant have been considered a launching pad for young women to further their academic and career goals.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at The Clayton Center box office at 111 E. Second Street in Downtown Clayton, by calling 919-553-1737 or online.
