Marissa Claxton has the opportunity to give Buchanan its second consecutive Miss Blossomtime crown — a feat that has happened only twice in any community since 1924.

Kalamazoo won Miss Blossomtime in back-to-back years in 1938/1939 and St. Joseph did the same in 1987/1988, according to the pageant’s website.

History aside, the Buchanan High School senior said it would be an honor to be keep the crown in her hometown a year after Buchanan’s Roxie Elliott won.

“It already means a lot to me that I am representing Buchanan,” she said. “If I got the opportunity to represent Buchanan as Miss Blossomtime it would mean the world — just to make my community, family and friends proud and to be a role model for Buchanan, the Blossomtime communities and Southwest Michigan.”

The pageant, which features 23 community queens, takes place Monday evening at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center.

Claxton could not single out just one aspect of the pageant she is looking forward to most.

“Everything that we do from our modeling segments to our evening gown walks is just so much fun and the girls are just so much fun to be around,” she said. “I am just looking forward to the whole weekend.”

The most challenging part of the pageant, she said, might be the evening gown walk. Not because she is unhappy with her walk, but because everyone else is so good at theirs.

“It is just so hard to figure out a way to stand out in group of girls like that who are just so great and have such great walks… I would hate to be a judge because I would never know who to pick,” she said.

Like all community queens, Claxton has spent a lot of time practicing for the pageant on her own and with the other contestants. She has also found time to wind down.

“I’ve been relaxing too, especially this whole week, just to get myself calm and be prepared for this hectic weekend,” she said. “But it will be super fun.”

So far, Claxton said being part of the pageant process has been a rewarding experience — one that has taught her life skills like interviewing and communicating with others.

“Some people think that pageants are just a popularity contest that are all about looks and that the girls are snobby and stuck up. That is definitely not true,” she said. “All of the queens I met are so nice and so genuine and they will truly help you out with anything that you need. Pageants are just a great experience and it is sad that people have bad conceptions about them.”