CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – MISS St. Kitts is the Nevis Culturama Caribbean Culture Queen for 2009. The vivacious Mauriece Roberts withstood the challenges of seven other beauties to walk away with the crown in the pageant which, ended in the wee hours of this morning (July 25).
First Runner-up was Antigua’s Jamelia Joseph, who was followed by Dominica’s Kayan Toussaint and Nevis’ Taniesha Hendrickson. Joseph totalled 1 450 points, Toussaint 1 442 and Hendrickson 1 368.
Roberts, who set the tone for the night with a confident introduction, amassed 1 511 points in a pageant which saw a departure from the norm. Organisers opted to have the Interview segment at the start of the show instead of the end, which was reserved for the Evening Wear.
The change, however, did not deter Roberts who won the Best Talent and Best Evening Wear categories with 463 and 403 points respectively. For her talent piece Roberts sang Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, interspersing the original licks with some of her own speaking out against domestic violence. Her evening wear was simply entitled “Timeless Treasure”. Miss Montserrat Loralyn Fergus, who failed to placed, must have come close to winning the Best Talent with her crowd-pleasing poem “Come and Get Yuh Luck.”
Toussaint won the Interview segment after saying things that disturb her in her travels around the region include the way people disposed of their garbage and the use of foul language. She also won the Swimsuit category with a one-piece gold outfit.
Last year’s Queen, Dominica’s Mara Walter, made her final walk and crowned the new Queen.
In between appearances by the girls, the crowd was treated to performances by the Odisi Band, the Rhythmz Dance Theatre – with a tribute to Michael Jackson – and models from Platinum Modelling Incorporated.
The show, well hosted by Spencer Hanley and ably supported by Sandra Daniel, was for the most part well run except for a few technical difficulties, most notably during the talent pieces of Hendrickson and Joseph when the microphones went dead.
Premier of Nevis Hon. Joseph Parry and Minister for Culture Hon. Hensley Daniel were among the hundreds in attendance. Minister Daniel also assisted in the presentation of trophies.
