At Cathedral, she was voted “most dependable,” was on the Emerald Tide Dance Team for four years serving as captain her senior year.

She also took dance from the Middleton School of Dance for seven years.

“Any opportunity to dance and show what I could do — I’d take it, even if it’s wearing a big poofy dress.

Scarborough said she started doing ballet when she was 3 years old, so the dancing aspect of the tableaux always came naturally to her.

“(Pageant was just one of those things — I would go to school, dance practice, put on my party dress and go to pageant,” Scarborough said.

And since Scarborough also has a interest in old, black and white movies, the period costumes appealed to her.

Her previous pageant participation includes Little Maypole, Big Maypole, Virginia Reel, junior bridesmaid in the Wedding of Jefferson Davis, Can-Can, Soiree, Soiree Sweetheart for two years and a 2011 Court Maid.

Scarborough will don the most elaborate “party dress” this year in her finale Pilgrimage performance.

The dress, a mid-19th-century hoop-skirted ball gown of Italian candlelight silk satin, was origionally worn by 1999 PGC Queen Jacquelyn Ming Benson Curry and more recently worn by 2009 PGC Queen Elizabeth Grafton Pritchartt.

“I’d always admired that dress Grafton wore and (wanted to wear it) if I ever got to be queen,” Scarborough said.

And when she first tried it on, she was even more in awe of the gown.

“It’s covered in pearls; I didn’t know about all the details,” she said.

“It’s even more beautiful than I thought it was going to be.”

The gown is elaborately trimmed with French lace, pearls and mother-of-pearl sequins. The fitted bodice, which is entirely covered with a ribbon-beaded lace overlay, comes to a deep point at the front of the waist. Scalloped hand-beaded lace adorns the neckline and cap sleves.

The floor-legnth skirt is also entirely covered with a ribbon-beaded lace overlay.

Accenting the bottom of the skirt are three deep tiers of alternating designs. First is a scalloped, re-embroidered tier of lace medallions, then a tier of pale rose-petal pink silk satin and last is a tier of candlelight silk satin. The tiers are encrusted with pearls and mother-of-pearl sequins.

Her custom-made crown is French with Russian influences. It is adorned with Swarovski crystals sprinkled with Aurora Borealis stones. It features Scarborough’s initials, the year of her reign and birthstones honoring her, her mother, father, her grandmother Grace and her late grandmother Virginia.

Dynasty Collection of Mobile, Ala., made both the crown and Scarborough’s handmade scepter.

Just like she likely imagined as a little girl at the Maypole, Scarborough said wearing her dress makes her feel like a princes.

“You automatically correct you posture a little bit, notice other people are looking at you and hold yourself a certain way,” Scarborough said.

“I kind of feel like Cinderella.”

Scarborough said she looks forward to culminating her pageant career by reigning as queen, but she knows she owes the experience to someone else.

“If it wasn’t for my Mom, I would have never been here without all of her hard work and overtime that she’s put into PGC,” Scarborough said.

“I’m really grateful for that.”