Harvard grad is new Miss Mass

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, considered by many a thing of beauty in its own right, was teeming with feminine pulchritude this weekend as 22 young women graced its stage to compete for the title of Miss Massachusetts 2010.

For the second time in two years, the 82-year-old theater at Federal Square, which underwent a $31 million transformation two years ago, served as the setting for the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Pageant, a preliminary to the nationally televised Miss America Pageant that will be held in Las Vegas in January.

The field for the two-night event included 21-year-old Jackie Crawford of Spencer, a junior at Northeastern University.

The 10 finalists from Friday night’s competition and an 11th contestant chosen by online voting vied last night for scholarship money and the chance to represent the Bay State in Nevada. Each sought the sparkling crown resting upon the head of Amanda Kelly of Braintree, Miss Massachusetts 2009.

They were judged in talent, evening wear and swimsuit competitions.

When the voting was over, 24-year-old Harvard University graduate Loren Galler Rabinowitz of Brookline was chosen as Miss Massachusetts 2010.

The first runner-up was Taylor Kinzler, 18, of Lakeville, a University of Rhode Island freshman, and the second runner-up was Ashley Rizzo, 23, of Los Altos, Calif., a graduate student at the New England Conservatory.