BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PAGEANT organisers Derrick V. Fraites and Shelda Webster-Ham said that their upcoming pageant, Miss Caribbean Tourism St. Kitts, would be one with a difference and an event to remember.
The show is scheduled to be held at 17 Degrees on Saturday, October 27 and will feature 13 countries from around the Caribbean.
St. Kitts will be represented by Trevicia ‘Barbie’ Adams, Anguilla by Olufunmike Banks Devonish, Antigua and Barbuda by Shenique Barry, Aruba by Lynette Do Nascimento and Curacao by Miluska Willems.
Nature isle Dominica will be represented by Ameka Cognet, Jamaica by Chadale Smith, St. Croix by Deidre DuBois, St. John by Kinia Blyden, St. Lucia by Consuelo Dupal, St. Thomas by Teryssa Thomas, St. Vincent and the Grenadines by Jovonne John and Latia Drakes will represent Trinidad and Tobago.
Webster-Ham, who is the Planner/Pageant Advisor, said that the pageant was planned by herself and Fraites over the past few years.
She said they the two of them have experience in pageantry and also in judging pageants, as they both served as chairpersons at separate times for the National Carnival Queen Pageant for a number of years.
They first had different concepts for the pageant before they decided to make it a part of the upcoming Tourism Awareness Month.
“We thought it would be great to host it at the end of the month of October; and since it’s a Caribbean show, look at it as a way of boosting the tourism industry with people coming in to see the show,” said Webster-Ham.
In terms of preparations, Fraites, who is the Pageant Chairman, said that plans are going well and that it would be the first time Aruba and Curacao would be competing in St. Kitts.
“I think Kittitians love pageants and this pageant is going to be with a difference. We also have a very good sponsor who has decided to come on board and make the show a lot more interesting,” Fraites said.
He said that Avon Cosmetics has come onboard to sponsor the pageant, as they were impressed with the concept of the show.
He added that among their sponsorship, the company would be giving 26 pairs of shoes to the pageant - two pairs for each contestant - and also their outfit for the Fanfare segment.
The Fanfare segment will be judged. Fraites said the contestants would be judged on how they wear the Summer dress they would be given, which could be worn six different ways along with a pair of the shoes donated by Avon.
He noted that their modeling skills will also be judged for that segment; however, it is not a part of the actual judged segments of the show.
The organisers said that Avon Cosmetics is also the official makeup for the pageant.
The contestants will arrive on the island from October 24 and will be a part of a number of activities, including a breakfast meeting with Dr. Kathleen Ferdinand who will speak to them about breast cancer.
There will also be a donation to a local breast cancer group by Avon.
Other activities within which the contestants will be participate include Zipline tours, courtesy call to sponsors and various promotional activities.
Following the pageant, there will be a prize-giving ceremony on October 28 to award the contestants and a luncheon at Sweet Lime.
And there are prizes for the persons who attend the show as well.
Fraites said the first 500 people who purchase tickets for the show will have a chance to win a flat screen television.
Other prizes eligible for the audience to win at the show include free pizzas from Dominoes, KFC vouchers and free movie tickets.
The contestants will be judged in the following: Ambassadorial Wear and Introduction, Swimwear, Talent, Evening Wear and Interview.
Of the 13 contestants, the top six will be announced from winner to the fifth runner-up position.
Fraites said another unique aspect of the pageant is that the show would have a total of 13 judges, with a large number of them being employed at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, that are of various nationalities so as to make the competition as fair as possible.
He said every judge would judge all segments of the show and each of them would post a question directly to a specific contestant.
“The judges will formulate the questions and will ask the contestants and she will pull a number which will be attached to a judge, and whatever number she pulls the judge will ask.
“This adds to the fairness of the overall score. The committee has nothing to do with the scoring and we will not see the scores. The auditors will deal directly with the judges and we will be surprised with the winner of the pageant as everyone else would,” the organisers said.
The pageant will be hosted by former National Carnival Queen Sudeakka Francis and Kupid of ZIZ, while GQ and Kupid have been earmarked at the Masters-of-Ceremony.
The other committee members are Hollis Prentice, Telca Wallace and Edwin Glasford.
“This is a show not to be missed. We want to say a special thank you to some of the sponsors that came on board including Avon, Timothy Beach Resort, LIAT, LIME and 17 Degrees.
“There are several companies in St. Kitts that, despite economical challenges, did their best to come on board,” the organisers said.
