I was in a festival as a junior attendant when I was 10, and then as a maid my senior year of HS. (I should have been queen based on my service to the club...but this chick who's dad is in the state legislature got it...wonder why?)
My freshman year of college I was in a debutante ball.
It was the same group of girls, that I'd known practically forever. I had to try my hardest to stay a belle because those girls were incredibly mentally addled....and its just hard to stay pleasant when you're dealing with an army of stupid people.
I think my favorite moment was at a luncheon where, the aforementioned girl who was queen had her chocolate mousse set in front of her and she exclaimed "OMG! MY ICE CREAM ISN'T FROZEN!"