Staff WriterThe 2019 Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition steadily approaches the big showdown at National Arena, slated for Thursday, August 1, 2019, as the last three queens are to be crowned in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, on Saturday, July 6, at Alparts Sports Club, and St. Mary, also on July 6, at the Anglican Church Hall, both of which are set to begin at 7:00 PM. Trelawny will host the very last parish coronation on Sunday, July 7, at the Royalton Hotel in Falmouth, beginning at 8:00 PM.
The parish coronations aim to select the brightest, most promising queens to vie for the chance at becoming Jamaica’s next cultural ambassador if selected at the National Coronation in August.
Organized by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition has catapulted the careers of countless young and brilliant Jamaican women for over the past 50 years.
“We have seen excellent talent and potential in the parish queens selected so far. These young ladies have proven themselves to be well poised, knowledgeable on their Jamaican culture and heritage and eager to further develop themselves throughout this iconic programme.” said Andrew Clunis, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the JCDC.
He expressed that the coronations so far have made him especially excited to see what the last three parishes will bring to the table for the approaching ceremonies.
Trelawny, St. Mary, and St. Elizabeth are parishes rich in culture and good-natured people like so many places in Jamaica. We can expect that they have put together top form candidates to compete for the title of parish queen.”
With the young women competing to represent their parishes already proving themselves to be culturally aware, involved in their respective communities, and talented to boot, Clunis expects that the chosen queens will truly shine come National Coronation. The aim after all is to select the best of the best and also to further refine the skills and presentations of the girls selected to represent their parishes on the national level.
Miss Clarendon and St. James will join the eight previously selected parish queens to compete at the Grand Final in August.
Among selected queens are AnnaKay Hudson, Miss Kingston and St. Andrew, Khamara Wright representing St. Catherine, and Chantalle Bryan from the parish of St. Ann.
Crowned also was Drulissa Grant hailing from St. Thomas, Reneise Johnson representing Hanover, and Elieza White from Portland. Westmoreland’s Kimona Roache will be representing the parish at the Grand Final, while Alecia Byfield was selected to represent Clarendon.
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.
The competition is sponsored by Popeyes, JF Mills, This is Really Great Yogurt, Lasco Money, Platex, and Excelsior.
Media Writer
