The proud parish of Westmoreland will crown the first parish queen of the 2019 Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition at its coronation at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall, Savanna-La-Mar, this Saturday, June 1. Beginning at 8:00 pm, the coronation will be the first of the 13 parish coronations to be held across the island throughout the month of June.
A signature programme of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition focuses on leadership, appreciation of the role of women, culture, creative talent and community involvement has produced some outstanding queens who have continued to make a significant contribution to building ‘Brand Jamaica’ beyond their reign. Each parish coronation will determine which intelligent, culturally-aware, poised and empowered young woman will represent her parish at the National Coronation in August.
“The Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition has a long track record of helping young Jamaican women find and refine their voices. So many go on to better themselves and by extent their country,” said Daffodil Thompson, Interim Executive Director at the JCDC.
Thompson spoke also on the importance of the parish coronations in selecting the young women best suited to represent their parishes.
She continued: “All our contestants are brimming with promise and potential. We are now looking to offer them a platform, one that allows them to bring out that potential in a way that benefits them. And of course, better equips them to give back to society, which is a true mark of success. I am excited to see these brilliant young women show out at the parish coronations, and go on to prepare themselves for August.”
St. Catherine and Manchester will also see their coronations being held this weekend. Both coronations will be held on Sunday, June 2, beginning at 7:00 pm, at the Eltham High School in Spanish Town and the Belair High School Auditorium, Mandeville, respectively.
Parish coronations will then resume on Saturday, June 8 in Portland at the Port Antonio High School Auditorium, beginning at 8:00 PM. Hanover, also scheduled for June 8, will see its coronation take place at the Jockey Factory in Lucea, also beginning at 8:00 PM.
Kingston and St. Andrew’s ceremony takes place on Sunday, June 9 at the iconic Little Theatre in Kingston, and will begin at 7:00 PM.
Miss St. Thomas will be crowned on Saturday, June 15 at Colonel Cove in Morant Bay, with the ceremony beginning at 9:00 PM, while St. Ann’s coronation kicks off at 7:00 PM at Evansville Entertainment Complex in St. Ann’s Bay on Sunday, June 16.
Alpart Sports Club in Main District will host St. Elizabeth’s coronation on Saturday, June 22 and is set to begin at 8:00 PM. St. Mary’s coronation, to be held on the same date, will take place at the St. Mary Anglican Church Hall in Port Maria, and is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM.
Clarendon’s ceremony, which also begins at 8:00 PM, will be held on Saturday, June 29 at Glenmuir High School in May Pen, with Trelawny’s coronations taking place on the same date at Falmouth Cruise Port in Water Square, beginning at 8:00 PM.
St. James will then host the final ceremony on Sunday, June 30 at the Iberostar Hotel in Lilliput District, beginning at 7:00 PM.
Tickets for the various coronations may be purchased at the relevant parish office, or at the gate of the event.
The Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition is a signature programme of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. The programme focuses on leadership, appreciation of the role of women, creative talent and culture and community involvement and has produced some outstanding queens who have continued to make a significant contribution to building ‘Brand Jamaica’ beyond their reign. Some of the more notable past queens include Dr. Marsha Barnett, Jennifer ‘Jenny-Jenny’ Small, Jacinth Hall-Tracey, Dahlia Harris, Krystal Tomlinson and Kaysia Johnson.
