Festival Queen parish coronations set for this weekend
Published:Thursday | June 8, 2023 | 4:19 PM
The parishes of Hanover, St Thomas and Manchester will select their parish queens this weekend to participate in the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition 2023.
Festival Queen parish coronations are scheduled to take place at the Jockey Factory in Hanover, and Colonel's Cove in Morant Bay, St Thomas, on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11, respectively. Both events will begin at 8 p.m.
On Sunday, June 11, a similar coronation will take place at Belair High School Auditorium in Manchester, beginning at 7 p.m.
The competitions are being organised by the parish offices of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).
Former Miss Clarendon Festival Queen 2022, Sheri Gaye Johnson, said the competition is an incentive for young women “to network and to develop themselves holistically”.
“This competition, when compared with other pageants, causes you to think holistically, because you are not just a queen because of your beauty but you are a queen because of how much you can contribute to your country and to your parish,” she said.
“You have to be a cultural ambassador for your country. You have to execute a project that is geared towards social development.”
Johnson, who was also first runner-up in the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2022, is advising the young women participating in the competition to believe in themselves and to have fun.
“So, entering this competition, be true to yourself, believe in yourself and have fun, and do not take the work lightly that you are going to receive,” she said.
Under the theme 'The Jamaican Woman: Strong, Dignified, Creative', the competition seeks to find 13 talented young women who will be given a chance to participate in the Grand National Coronation on August 1, which is part of the annual Independence Festival celebrations.
The young women, who are between 18 and 25 years, will be judged on cultural awareness, leadership, and their involvement in community development. They will also be judged on performances during the shows in the areas of speech, dance or drama.
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