Though the fair officially opens on Wednesday, July 21, the 2010 celebration begins on Tuesday, July 20 with the annual Miss California Mid-State Fair Pageant.

This year 13 Central Coast ladies will vie for the title, with only one beginning the 2010 CMSF as queen. The pageant begins at 7:30 p.m. on the Fort Frontier Stage, and admission and parking for the event are free.

Though the queen discharges most of her duties during the run of the fair, she can’t complete her term until she implements her platform at the fair during the following year. Millie Podesta won the pageant in 2009, and she’s looking forward to implementing her platform during this year’s fair. Her platform is a celebration of America’s fighting men and women.

“I’ve been working on my platform to present at the fair this year,” Podesta said. “We got postcards; and at the fair we’ll have booth set up so people can come and get information about what they can do to volunteer in the community to support troops and fill out postcards that we’ll send to troops overseas and veterans in VA hospitals.”

Like all good platforms, Podesta drew inspiration for her platform through a personal connection. Her brother, Austin Feaval, is in the Marines and her grandfather, Steven Rapp, was in the Vietnam War and was injured in the line of duty.

“I know how lonely soldiers get and how under appreciated they are,” she said of the impetus behind her platform.

This year’s candidates are in the early planning stages of their platforms, but Podesta said the key to a great platform is passion.

“If you’re not passionate about it, then you’re not going to care as much,” she said. “If it’s something you’re passionate about, you’ll know more about it. That helps when you talk about it during your interview and when they ask your final question.”

This year’s contestants continue to demonstrate passion for their platforms as well, knowing that if their name is called tonight they have a year to make the platform a reality. For many, the platform comes from a deeply personal place.

“My platform is entitled ‘Soul Survivors,’ and will be an outreach program taking place at the fair to provide hope and awareness for depression and suicide prevention,” said Rachel Parks. “My sophomore year in high school one of my good friends attempted to take her life and I was taken by complete surprise. I didn't know how to do it, but I knew that I wanted to help her and I wanted to help anyone else who felt as if they couldn't come back from that dark place.”

Derrah Fuller’s platform — Made in the Shade: Skin Cancer Awareness — was inspired by personal experience as well.

“I chose my platform because skin cancer has affected my family and close friends and I feel that people need to be educated on the dangers of getting too much sun as early as possible,” she said. “Early protection (sunscreen, shade) is the best tool in reducing your risk of the disease.”

In addition to developing a platform, the contestants will put their talent on display Tuesday night as well. The ladies have been working equally as hard to perfect their talent presentation, which will be on display under the lights when the pageant begins.

Kylie Holt will be singing the Queen classic “Somebody Love,” which has received a popular resurgence with a new generation of fans thanks in part to the TV phenomenon “Glee.”

“I went through the songs that I knew that I could sing well and what was in my voice range and just picked the best,” she said. “The biggest challenge I see will be me not being able to sing my best and maybe forgetting some minor changes I have made along the way to get this far. Hopefully everything will be perfect.”

In addition to others that will share their singing and dancing talents, contestant Ali Coleman hopes to stand out thanks to her rendition of the Shel Silverstein poem “Sick.”

“I picked my talent because I have always loved Shel Silverstien poems and ‘Sick’ is a very cute and funny poem,” she said. “I wanted to make the audience and the judges laugh, but also show my ability to act and have fun on stage.”

Master of Ceremonies for the pageant is Chad Stevens, and this year’s judges are Ruben Canales, Shelly Estrada, Dee Lacey, Karen Garman and Mari Robeson. The 2010 contestants include Karlee Anderson, Georgia Binkele, Coleman, Fuller, Holt, Samantha Jackson, Tommy Lynn Loyd, Sarah Manson, Parks, Kristin Raynor, Emily Von Dollen and Jessica Lauren White.

The CMSF runs from Wednesday, July 21 through Sunday, Aug. 1. The theme is “Endless Summer Fun” for more information, visit www.midstatefair.com.