BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - TWELVE beauties from across the Caribbean region will be vying for the crown in the 2013 Caribbean Culture Queen Pageant, which will be staged as part of Nevis’ 39th annual Culturama Festival.
This is the eighth year since the Pageant has been included on the Culturama calendar, and it will be held at the Cultural Complex in Nevis on Monday, August 5.
Host island Nevis will be represented by the reigning Culturama Queen, Denesia Smithen, while the reigning National Carnival Queen, 18-year-old Zinga Imo, will be representing St. Kitts.
The other contestants are: Miss Curacao Jurnalis Henson, Miss Dominican Republic Rosa Martinez, Miss Montserrat Kadija Furlonge, Miss St. Lucia Filamena Day, Miss St. Croix (USVI) A’Jada Burke, Miss Guyana Faydeha King, Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines Karla Gellizeau, Miss Dominica Leslassa Amour-Shillingford, Miss Trinidad and Tobago Jenelle Thongs and Miss Anguilla Taitu Goodwin.
Interestingly, Imo’s sister, Fatisha Imo, had placed Third-Runner-up in the 2008 Pageant.
The reigning Caribbean Culture Queen is Trevicia Adams from St. Kitts.
One of the Pageant’s organisers, Randy Jeffers, informed SKNVibes that 18 countries had applied to compete in the Pageant but, due to the limited space of the changing room at the Cultural Complex, only 12 of them were accepted.
Asked how early the application process started, Jeffers shared that it usually starts when the National Carnival Queen from St. Kitts is crowned, which is by January 1 each year.
As understood, that period is also when other Caribbean islands would have already held their local pageants.
He further disclosed that the Mark Twain ferry is scheduled to run after the show so as to accommodate people from St. Kitts who wish to return home following the Pageant.
According to Jeffers, having over 12 contestants in a pageant “does not mean it would be the best, because the success of any promotion is dependent on proper organisation”.
He opined that some pageants with large numbers of contestants are usually disorganised.
He said that the Caribbean Culture Queen Pageant might not have the most contestants when compared with other islands, but “it is recognised as the best”.
Jeffers is pleased that the reigning National Carnival Queen would be participating in this year’s Pageant, which, in his opinion, would encourage increased patronage from Kittitians.
