Mr. SHS benefits Sisters FAN

Eight of Sisters' most interesting young men and their escorts displayed their talents, passions, sense of humor and fashion sensibility in the annual Mr. SHS pageant held Saturday night at the Sisters High School auditorium.

The pageant and all of the activities that lead up to it is a benefit for Sisters Family Access Network (FAN), which connects families in need to vital services such as food, shelter, heating, healthcare, clothing, and more.

The theme of this year's events was "Mr. SHS 2017 - Famous Film Couples: A Hollywood Man Pageant." The contestants were:

• Jonathan Bertagna/Zidane Galant-Laporete as Percy and Annabeth from "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief."

• Jacob Gurney/Lauren Wattenburg as Westley and Buttercup from "A Princess Bride."

• Will Werts/Jules Meeter as Peeta and Katniss from "The Hunger Games."

• Max Sillers/Ceili Cornelius as Forrest and Jenny from "Forrest Gump."

• Ryan Funk/Johanna Geisen as Ron and Hermione from the Harry Potter movies.

• Keegan Greaney/Hogan Hernandez as Jack and Rose from "Titanic."

• Sam Lewis/Sophie Borders as Gatsby and Daisy from "The Great Gatsby."

• Jake Larson/Sabrina Reifschneider as Will and Elizabeth from "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Emcees Rylee Weber and Cassidy Ling Scott kept the proceedings rolling and filled set changeovers with a series of jokes notable for their groan factor.

After an exceptional opening dance number that featured vignettes from each of the movies represented, the contestants served up short videos, again tied (sometimes very loosely) to their movie theme.

Talents on display ranged from cooking to juggling to fly casting, photography and music. The swimwear portion of the program demonstrated that board shorts or a wetsuit could become the thing on a runway in Atlantic City.

The contestants and their escorts dazzled in formal-wear at the conclusion of the evening, when the winners were announced.

Lauren Wattenburg donned the tiara as "Best Escort," having earned the designation by putting in effort above and beyond the call of duty in helping make the pageant a success. Jacob Gurney was crowned Mr. SHS, and, in the comradely spirit of the pageant, his fellow contestants hoisted him on their shoulders as he thanked everyone involved.

Mr. SHS is a program that evolves over weeks of fund-raisers from a dodgeball tourney to a spaghetti feed, with hours of rehearsal going into the final pageant.

The impact of its beneficiary was driven home by a video shown at the outset of the pageant, where families who have been given a hand up through FAN recounted their stories and thanked the organization.

For more information on Sisters FAN, visit http://ssd6.org/parents/sistersfan.