MARIETTA - A large-capacity crowd is expected for the 53rd Annual Miss Cobb County Scholarship Pageant on Saturday night.

Thirteen young women will compete to become the new 2011 Miss Cobb County and win an $8,000 scholarship. The winner will move on to vie for the Miss Georgia crown next June in Columbus.

The pageant will be at 7 p.m. in the Anderson Theatre at Cobb Civic Center at 548 S. Marietta Parkway in Marietta. Tickets are $20. Choice patron seats are $30. Tickets can be reserved by calling (770) 435-6378.

With two former Miss Georgia contestants in the running, this year's pageant will be as competitive as ever, said pageant spokesman Chuck Fallis.

"We have several contestants who have been in the pageant before and we have newcomers," Fallis said. "We rehearsed all summer and, at every rehearsal, they seemed to be getting better and better. We're looking forward to a good show."

This year's pageant will spotlight the 13 contestants in an entertainment production titled "Don't Stop Believing."

Pebblebrook High School's renowned "Company" song and dance group will also provide entertainment between talent, swimsuit and evening gown competitions. The event emcee will be Joanne Grogan Feldman, Emmy-winning meteorologist for WAGA-TV Fox 5 Atlanta, who held the titles of Miss Cobb 1993 and Miss University of Georgia 1994.

Following tradition, last year's Miss Cobb winner, Casy Walker of Powder Springs, will crown this year's pageant winner. Miss Cobb County's Outstanding Teen, Tara Lynn Steele, 17, of Marietta, will also be featured.

The new 2010 Miss Georgia, Christina McCauley of Marietta, is an invited special guest and will sing during the show. McCauley became Cobb's second consecutive Miss Georgia when she was crowned in June. She will compete in the Miss America Pageant on Jan. 15 in Las Vegas.

This year, the pageant will award more than $11,000 in total cash scholarships. The Cobb County pageant consistently ranks in the top 10 nationally among local pageants in amount of scholarships awarded.

The first runner-up to the new Miss Cobb County will win a $1,000 scholarship; the second runner-up a $750 scholarship; the third runner-up a $500 scholarship; and the fourth runner-up a $250 scholarship.

The contestant who scores highest in the talent competition will take home $400; the private interview winner will receive $300; the swimsuit winner will be awarded $200; and Miss Congeniality will receive $200.

The judges for the pageant are Frank Kanelos, who serves on the Miss Alabama Pageant Board of Directors; Cindy Lamir, president and CEO of Impact Business Coaches; J.C. Redd, recreation program services manager for the Cobb Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs Department; Nicole Shipman of Dothan, Ala., who held the titles of Miss DeKalb County 1997 and Miss Conyers Cherry Blossom 1998; and Ben Brown, a Thomaston physician.