Thirty-six teenagers from around the state will compete for the title of Miss Alabama Teen USA 2023 on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28, at the Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University. (See their names and photos in the gallery above.)

Tickets are $45-$100 via the Gogue Center website, by phone at 334-844-8497 or at the box office, 910 S. College St. in Auburn.

The pageant runs in tandem with the 2023 edition of Miss Alabama USA; 37 women are in the running for that.

Katelyn Vinson, Miss Alabama USA 2022, will crown her successor at the finale. Miss Alabama Teen USA 2022, AnnaLee Story, will follow suit. Neither pageant will be televised, but live streams of the Jan. 27 preliminaries and Jan. 28 finals can be viewed online at Pageants Live. Access costs $40 for a two-night package; the streams start at 7:30 p.m. CT.

How it works:

Contestants for Miss Alabama USA are judged in three categories: personal interview, swimwear and evening gown. Miss Alabama Teen USA has an athletic wear competition instead of swimwear. but the two other components of this pageant are the same.

Voting is open online for the People’s Choice Awards, which guarantee a spot in the semi-finals. You can vote for your favorites for Miss and Teen on the Miss Alabama USA website, giving them a nudge toward the state crowns. Each vote comes with a $1 fee. Voting runs through noon on Saturday, Jan. 28.

The winners will move on to compete for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA later this year.