Riverside Academy senior Rylee Moore said she won’t miss the headaches from wearing the heavy crown and she won’t miss the blisters from wearing heels all the time, but she will miss being called Teen Andouille.

Moore gave up her title on Oct.1 when a new Miss Andouille and Teen Andouille were crowned in advance of this weekend’s Andouille Festival in St. John the Baptist Parish.

Moore started competing in pageants when she was only 12 months old and collected the titles of Baby Miss Andouille, Junior Deb, Petit, Spring Belle, and Junior Miss Fisherman over the next several years. Now she has two closets full of dresses, a lot of trophies  and even more memories.

“My favorite thing was going to the LAFF (Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals) and spending the weekend with all the queens throughout the state,” Moore said. “I  will miss being around everyone that I don’t normally get to see, but won’t miss the headaches from the crown and the blisters from the heels.”

Before each pageant Moore had to have a three minute interview about her knowledge about the festival. Normally it takes around one to two hours to get ready for a pageants with the hair, makeup, and the dress.

“It’s kind of nerve wracking,” she said. “You feel a lot adrenaline going up onto that stage and stand in front of such a big crowd. I learned a lot about myself.”

But entering pageants isn’t all roses and trophies.

At the Andouille Pageant on Saturday, Moore had to perform an opening number dance, then change into a dress that they could not get on her. She had to do her final walk on stage, come back, change again, go back out on stage to listen to all the other girls introduce themselves. Finally, she had to walk off stage then back on to listen to her farewell speech.

Moore said the whole experience made her emotional.

“I cried all day,” she said.

Moore’s advice to the new Teen Andouille is to go all the parish events and to get involved. She encourages anyone interested in entering pageants to do so, it’s such a different experience.

“It really boosts your confidence to get on that stage in front of everyone that you don’t know,” Moore said.

Moore loves competing as a way to prove that she’s not scared to walk on the stage and let random people judge you. These pageants has brought her so many friends and long lasting memories. She plans to compete for the Bonfire Festival crown on Dec. 10.