Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields will be on hand to crown Miss America 2018 on Sunday, September 10. Miss Louisiana, Laryssa Bonacquisti, is a serious contender. During the preliminary events, the 22-year-old from Monroe won the Lifestyle & Fitness in swimsuit award and the Talent award. Her talent? For the past 16 years, Laryssa has been honing her craft as a ventriloquist. She even had the opportunity to open for America’s Got Talent winner, ventriloquist Terry Fator. Check out Laryssa below with Waddles, one of her older puppets who interacts well with children. There’s also a photo and video of Laryssa as a young ventriloquist, below.
Laryssa says: “If you told my 6-years-old self that my newly found talent would one day bring me to the #MissAmerica stage, I wouldn’t have believed you! My love of the stage combined with a suggestion by a family friend to try ventriloquism brought me to the art, and I never looked back!” Miss Texas often brings her puppets to entertain and lift the spirits of children in hospitals (see photo below). The 2018 Miss America Competition, held at Atlantic City, airs Sunday, September 10 at 9pm on ABC.
A little #tbt to introduce my #MissAmerica talent! Saddle up for the Triple “L” Roundup #TripleLRoundup #Lucky #Lucy #Laryssa #misslouisiana pic.twitter.com/0S8LKsb1R0
— Miss Louisiana (@MissAmericaLA) August 4, 2017
