Miss McHenry to make debut

Layla Piorkowski Miss McHenry

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McHENRY – Layla Piorkowski paid careful attention to Miss McHenry when she was young.

“I would go to events and see Miss McHenry, and I would always envision myself being in the pageant,” said Piorkowski, 16.

That aspiration came true, and this year Piorkowski will wear the Miss McHenry crown. She’ll make her public debut this weekend at the city’s Fiesta Days.

Pior­kow­ski, a junior at McHenry West High School, said she was ecstatic when she was dubbed Miss McHenry because it was her first time in a pageant.

“I was the youngest. ... I was the baby,” she said.

She said her nerves were racked when she responded to the final question of the competition, which asked what qualities Miss McHenry should possess.

“You couldn’t represent McHenry without confidence,” was her answer, she said.

She’ll try to do just that when she walks in the Fiesta Days parade and judges a sand castle-building contest during the festival. She said she would be out and about every day of the fest and was eager to mingle with the community.

The runner-up in the Miss McHenry pageant was Lluvia Garcia, and the second runner-up was Sarah Domagala. Tracy Juske was named Miss Congeniality at the June 20 pageant, in which 11 young women competed.

Fiesta Days runs from Friday to July 25.