RACINE - The Miss Racine Scholarship Program will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at St. Catherine's High School, 1200 Park Ave.

Seven contestants will compete for the title of Miss Racine 2009.

They will sing, dance, play piano and otherwise make their case for the title. Contestants will discuss their platforms, including topics like childhood cancer, international cooperation, and women in science.

The contestants are:

- Hannah Whalen, 19, of Racine, the daughter of Kurt and Jan Wahlen.

Wahlen is attending Elmhurst College where she is majoring in philosophy.

- Megan Sturycz, 22, of Kenosha, the daughter of Taja Chandler and Michael Sturycz.

Sturycz is attending the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where she is majoring in communications.

- Carolyn Streiff, 23, of Burlington, the daughter of Scott and Vivian Streiff.

Streiff is attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is majoring in physics and astronomy.

- Sha-Nita Rhea, 23, of Beloit, the daughter of Barry Rhea and Anita Jones.

Rhea is attending the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where she is majoring in English.

- Alisa Prochaska, 20, of Racine, the daughter of Stephen and Viktorija Prochaska.

Prochaska is attending The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where she is majoring in nutritional science.

- Melissa Maggart, 21, of Racine, daughter of Janet and the late Mark Maggart.

Maggart is attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is majoring in communication arts.

- April Dovorany, 20, of Racine, daughter of Thomas Dovorany and Gail Gottfredsen.

Dovorany is attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is majoring in mass communications.

The theme of the pageant is "Dancing Queens."

This year's program emcees will be Miss Wisconsin USA 2007 Caitlin Morrall and Miss Wisconsin 2007 Christina Thompson.

Miss Racine 2006, Briana Lipor, will be absent from this year's program for the first time since 2003. She is the current Miss Wisconsin and is traveling to Las Vegas later this week to compete in the Miss America Pageant, which will be aired on TLC on Saturday, Jan. 24. Lipor has also been featured on TLC's "Countdown to the Crown" which has been airing each Friday in January.

Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door. They can also be reserved in advance by calling (262) 210-4412 or by sending an e-mail to missracinepageant@gmail.com.

The Miss Racine Scholarship Program, which has been in existence since 1960, is a local affiliate of the Miss America Organization.