Increase in Entries for Festival Queen Parish Coronations

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is reporting an increase in this year’s entries to the Festival Queen Parish Coronations.

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 be crowned the national cultural ambassador, inclusive of a platform for their efforts towards nation-building.

Acting Director of Marketing and Public Relations, JCDC, Michelle Naraysingh, told JIS News that the aim is to have a minimum of 10 participants per parish.

“So, our numbers are going back up to what it was pre-COVID. We are seeing increased entries. It is still not what it was pre-COVID but it is an improvement this year over last year,” she said.

She added that the parish coronations returned last year after a two-year postponement due to the pandemic.

“Last year would have been our first year back in its entirety, and the year before that would have been the hybrid (semi-virtual) year when we didn’t have it face to face,” she said.

Miss Naraysingh said there will be a minimum of three or four shows every weekend until the end of June.

So far, two parish competitions have been held on June 3, one in St Mary and the other in Clarendon. Another two will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2023, at the Jockey Factory in Hanover and at the Colonel’s Cove, Morant Bay in St. Thomas. Both shows will commence at 8 p.m.

On Sunday, June 11, the parishes of Manchester and St. Catherine will crown their new queens at the Belair High Auditorium in Manchester and at the Independence City Primary School in St. Catherine, respectively, at 7 p.m. Other competitions will be announced shortly.

At the competitions, the women, who are between ages 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.

Following the coronations, the winners will participate in the Grand National Coronation on August 1, which is part of the annual Independence Festival celebrations.

Miss Naraysingh said that two weeks before the grand coronation, the 13 parish queens will arrive in Kingston to undergo an advanced level of training and to pay a number of courtesy calls on the Prime Minister, the Governor-General, ministers of government and other prominent persons.

“They will enter what we call their residency period. That period is when they are all together to undergo a far more intense training and preparation for their talent piece for the national coronation and they will also be doing their courtesy calls on sponsors and key government officials,” she added.

On the coronation night, Miss Naraysingh said, more than $1 million in cash and prizes will be won, as well as six sectional awards for ‘Most Active in her Community’, ‘Most Culturally Aware’, ‘Most Popular on Social Media’, ‘Most Poised’, ‘Most Congenial’ and ‘Most Talented’.

The Acting Director thanked the many sponsors who have continued to offer their support to the parish and national competitions, despite being impacted by COVID-19.

“We do have our longstanding sponsors that are with us… . They have supported a range of JCDC programmes,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Acting Director urged other businesses and private-sector companies to be a part of the competition, noting that there is a need for additional sponsors.

She informed that they could receive exposure at different levels of the competition.

“The reach and visibility are astounding. Most of our shows will be streamed on the Vimeo platform, and we will have significant social media presence, as is usual for us. And so, it allows quite a bit of reach and visibility for any sponsor that’s coming on board,” she added.

She noted that highlights of each show will be posted on the JCDC’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages. Persons will also see photo captions, promotional flyers and schedules for upcoming shows.

Persons who are interested in sponsoring the competition may contact the Commission’s office, 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10 or call 926-5726-9 or email info@jcdc.gov.jm.