Two days of strobe lights, thumping pop music, fluorescent smiles and shimmering gowns were grinding toward a dramatic conclusion when Sal Malafronte, a hairstylist and pageant industry veteran, began to reveal the 10 semifinalists who had made the cut at the 2025 Miss Maine USA pageant.

A crowd of about 300 people had gathered Sunday afternoon inside a large ballroom at the Holiday Inn Portland-By the Bay, which had not seen this much excitement since April, when the hotel hosted Furcationland 2025, a convention for people who enjoy dressing as anthropomorphic animal characters.

“And we are going to begin,” Mr. Malafronte said, “with Penobscot, Arianna DeJesus! And Monson, Isabelle St. Cyr!”

Ms. St. Cyr, who channeled Marilyn Monroe vibes in a dress that sparkled like a disco ball, sashayed to the front of the stage where she joined Ms. DeJesus, who was decked out in a yellow gown and her Miss Penobscot sash.

Miss Belfast and Miss Lewiston soon followed. Next up was Miss Hancock, a petite brunette named Jordon Hudson, 24, whose boyfriend, Bill Belichick, sat in the front row to the far right. Ms. Hudson’s relationship with Mr. Belichick, 73, the former coach of the New England Patriots, has been in the news recently, and they were the reason this year’s pageant had morphed from quaint ritual to tabloid spectacle.