POULSBO — After enjoying her first taste of lutefisk at First Lutheran’s 94th annual lutefisk dinner Oct. 14, Miss Poulsbo Brenna Gardner-Brown is nearing the homestretch of her reign as local royalty.

And as the holiday season approaches the Miss Poulsbo/Miss Kitsap Scholarship Organization will once again be accepting applications for its 2007 pageants.

Gardner-Brown, whose platform is women in leadership, will hand over her Poulsbo crown on March 24, 2007 at the Bremerton High School auditorium.

Winners of both crowns will receive a $5,000 scholarship in addition to other awards and gifts and will have the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Washington in Tacoma in July 2007.

Last year, the combined organization gave out more than $25,000 in scholarships to 13 contestants.

Since the Miss Poulsbo program joined the Miss America organization in 1999, two contestants have placed in the top 10 at the Miss Washington Pageant.

The Miss Kitsap group has enjoyed similar success as it boasts Miss Washington 2006 Kristen Eddings, two second runners-up at the Miss Washington pageant and another Miss Washington, Sharon Vaughn, who won the contest in 1959. Vaughn was second runner-up at the Miss America pageant.

Even though pageants may provide the glamour for each queen’s reign, both will find their tenures filled with numerous opportunities to represent Poulsbo and Kitsap County throughout the state.

In order to compete for Miss Poulsbo, women must be between the ages of 17 and 24 and live within the North Kitsap School District. They must also be a high school graduate by June 2006.

The Miss Kitsap pageant is open to women 17 to 24 who live, work or attend school within the boundaries of Kitsap County excluding the North Kitsap School District. They, too, must be a high school graduate by June 2006.

Judging for both contests will be the same, the talent and private interview portions will account for a combined 60 percent of the scores. The evening gown part will be 15 percent of the scores and casual wear and swimsuits will both represent 10 percent of the totals. The on-stage interview will make up the remaining 5 percent.

Applications are available at Nilsen’s Appliance Center in Poulsbo and Silverdale. For more information, interested women are encouraged to call Lynda Nilsen at (360) 779-5918 or e-mail her at misspoulsbo@yahoo.com.