Miss Rhode Island 2017 was crowned on Sunday evening at the Casino Theatre in Newport, which just so happens to be the city that the newest Miss Rhode Island calls her hometown.

Nicolette Peloquin, 21, of Newport, formerly Miss Newport Harbor, beat out 15 other contestants to win the honor of becoming Miss Rhode Island 2017. Peloquin is a student at Salve Regina University. Among those other contestants, competiting were two others from Newport County – Elena De La Rosa (Newport) and Molly Andrade (Middletown).

Among the contestants were two others from Newport County – Elena De La Rosa (Newport) and Molly Andrade (Middletown).

 

The Miss Rhode Island program is an official preliminary competition of the Miss America Scholarship Organization, which provides millions of dollars in scholarships to young women every year!

Caroline Hollingsworth, 15, of East Greenwich, took the crown in the Miss Rhode Island Outstanding Teen competition. Brennan Cluff (Middletown) and Carrigan Nelson (Portsmouth) represented Newport County in the Miss Rhode Island’s Outstanding Teen competition.

Winners of the Miss Rhode Island and Miss Rhode Island’s Outstanding Teen pageants will go on to compete for national titles at Miss America and Miss America’s Outstanding Teen!

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...