Are you free March 1? The journalism staff surely hopes so! The annual Mr. North Harford pageant will be returning to the stage, with both old and new faces.

     The show will be held on Friday, March 1. Doors open at 6:30 P.M, and the show will begin at 7. Tickets can be purchased for $5 on GoFan. At last year’s event, there were only 50 tickets remaining the night of the show, so be sure to purchase yours in advance.

     This event not only serves as a fun evening for students, staff, and families, but also as a fundraiser. The funds from this event contribute to expenses for the journalism staff, such as newspaper costs and other things throughout the year, like Kindness Week.

     This year, there will be 12 contestants, including a freshman, two juniors, and many seniors. Returning boys include seniors Alex Wakefield, Mason Clark, and Preston Miller.

     New faces include freshman Lucas Hale, juniors Drew Tagliaferri and Caleb Kerr, along with seniors Luke Brown, Harold Davis, Ivan Juarez, Clay Lawrence, Casey Smith, and Lance Sunderhaus.

     Miller, last year’s winner, explained that his favorite part of being in the show was “all the backstage commotion. It’s so hectic and such a good time.” His advice to other performers is “to just have fun with what you’re doing, or you won’t enjoy it. Just soak it all in.”

     Smith assisted in a crowd-favorite act last year with former exchange student Baptiste Chone. While he wasn’t an official contestant, he “had a lot of fun and want[s] to be able to compete with [his] own act.” His goal for his act this year is to make the audience laugh. 

     Tagliaferri also commented, stating that he’s “looking forward to having some fun and making [himself] look stupid on stage.” The junior decided to do the show because “[English and journalism teacher] Mrs. Chandler recruited [him], and [he] has some friends in journalism and yearbook” that encouraged him to sign up.

     Senior Autumn Patchell explained that she’s going to the show because it’s her last year at NH, and she’s “honestly just excited to see all the different acts, [because] you never know what to expect.” Patchell’s favorite act last year was “the ballerina beach ball act, [because] it was super funny.” 

     Another senior, Mia Coleman, has never attended the show before, but expressed that she has “heard about all of the crazy stuff that happened last year, so [she] definitely wanted to see it for [herself].”