Arlie Honeycutt of Garner is headed for Vegas, but what happens there won’t be a secret … it will be for all the world to watch.

Arlie, who holds the state crown as Miss North Carolina, will compete against contestants from across the U.S. for the title of Miss America, in the pageant set for Saturday, Jan. 12 in Las Vegas.

But first, you can view her pageant wardrobe and take part in a local send-off party for Arlie on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m., at the Garner Performing Arts Center.

Only one other Miss North Carolina has been crowned Miss America across the long history of the pageant; that was Maria Fletcher of Asheville, in 1962.

“Miss America has always been the Super Bowl for me. I’d settle in to watch the pageant every year,” Honeycutt said in a recent interview with Cary Magazine. “I looked up to Miss North Carolina and Miss America as role models. Now it’s kind of mind-blowing to think there might be little girls looking up to me.”

The daughter of Scott and Beth Honeycutt of Garner, Arlie’s Miss N.C. pageant platform has been the Domino Effect: Inspiring volunteerism one person at a time.

She learned about the importance of volunteering from her upbringing in Garner, and says she’s grateful for the support of friends here throughout her journey to the crown.

“I’m very fortunate to have all these people who have my back,” Arlie said. “The town is always growing and changing as a community, but the people stay the same: wonderful and welcoming.”

Tickets to Arlie’s Miss America send-off party are $10 and will be available at the GPAC door on Dec. 30. Then, watch Arlie compete at the Miss America Pageant as it airs live from Las Vegas on Jan. 12 beginning at 9 p.m., on ABC.

To read more of our interview with Miss North Carolina Arlie Honeycutt, click here.