A local mother and daughter will soon be representing Tennessee in the AmeriFest Pageant national competition.

Juli Lewis, who is also known as ‘Juli Blue,’ and her daughter Annie Pearl Lewis recently captured honors at the Miss Tennessee Festivals state pageant, earning them a spot in the national event.

Both Juli, who is 40, and Annie Pearl, who will be three in September, have competed in pageants before, but the Miss Tennessee Festivals Pageant on April 28 marked the first time they have participated in a pageant together.

“When I saw they had a moms division I thought it would be nice for us to do a pageant together,” Juli said.

The April event was Juli’s fourth time competing in a pageant.

“I did one when I was a baby, one in elementary school, one in high school, and now this one,” Juli recalled.

During high school, Juli took part in the Miss Watauga Valley pageant.

“The reason I decided to do that pageant is because my guidance counselor in high school recommended me to participate in it, so I did,” Juli said. “I played my banjo and clogged in it for the talent, then we had swimwear, evening gown, and interview.”

“I did not place in the top three, but I had fun, and I learned how to get up in front of an audience,” she added.

Annie Pearl has also been competing in pageants since she was an infant. In 2016 she was named Little Miss Personality at the Appalachian Fair. She was crowned Little Miss Hillbilly in 2017 during the Covered Bridge Celebration in Elizabethton. In September 2017 she won 2nd place in Erwin’s Apple Festival Pageant, which secured her spot to compete this year in the Miss Tennessee Festivals Pageant.

At the state pageant last month, Juli was crowned Personality Supreme after competing in the Modern Woman division.

“Winning the Supreme title gave me an automatic ticket to go to nationals,” Juli said.

Juli also garnered four “side awards” including Most Photogenic and Prettiest Hair.

At the pageant, Juli had to compete in the interview and evening gown events. To capture the Personality Supreme Title, competitors had to earn the highest score in the interview event.

“I received a perfect score from all four judges,” Juli said.

Annie Pearl was crowned “Duchess” in her age division marking her second place victory. Both 1st and 2nd place finishers earn a ticket to nationals, Juli said.

Annie Pearl also captured the Prettiest Eyes side award for her age group.

At the national AmeriFest Pageant, which will be held July 27-29 in Pigeon Forge, Juli and Annie Pearl will be competing in the pageant as well as two charitable fundraisers.

For the pageant’s community service project, competitors are asked to collect collars and leashes for Jurnee’s Journey Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides support to animal welfare organizations such as the Humane Society, animal rescue groups, and animal shelters.

To earn a shot at the National Humanitarian Award, competitors are asked to collect donations of items such as food, toys, blankets, stuffed animals, and Bibles to donate to non-profit groups in their home community. Juli said contestants collect the donations and then give them to an agency in their community which will then provide documentation regarding the donation for the contestant to take to the national pageant.

Currently, Juli said she and Annie Pearl are working to raise funds to cover the cost of their pageant entry fees as well as hotel and travel expenses.

The royal mother and daughter team will be appearing at the Strawberry Festival in Erwin on May 19, where they will be selling abstract art paintings completed by them.

Juli has also set up a GoFundMe account to help with their fundraising. Those wishing to donate to that drive can do so by visiting the website www.gofundme.com/HelpJuliandAnniegotoNationals.

Individuals interested in making either a financial donation or donating items for the community service projects can contact Juli Lewis at juliandannie@hotmail.com.