Festival Queen Parish Coronations Continue This Weekend

The parish coronations for the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition will continue this week with the crowning of Miss Clarendon, Miss St. Elizabeth, Miss St. Ann, and Miss St. Catherine.

Board Commissioner at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and Festival Queen chairperson, Glenette Sinclair, told JIS News that the upcoming coronations are leading up to a riveting National Finals.

“For this weekend, we’re going to be having the Clarendon show Saturday, June 21 as well as St. Elizabeth, and on Sunday the 22nd we will have the St. Ann show as well as St. Catherine,” she said.

“For next weekend, we have Portland on June 28, as well as Kingston and St. Andrew, and then on Sunday the 29th, we’ll be having the St James show, and that will be the final parish show for the season before we have nationals. That’s where the real competition is, everybody is going to be cheering on their parish, because they would have already selected their Queen,” Ms. Sinclair added.

She noted that the competition this year has been especially exciting, given the newly introduced age limit for contestants.

“So far, it’s been a lot of excitement. This year we were able to adjust the rules a little bit, where we allowed entrants between the ages of 18 and 30. Initially it was 18 to 25, and we have a lot of entrants that are above the age of 25,” she said.

Since adding five years to the age limit for the competition, entrants over 25 have been crowned for the first time.

“We had a 26-year-old that walked away with the crown in Hanover and before that we had an attorney-at-law win in Westmoreland, so a lot has been going on. It’s exciting, the ladies are happy and enthused and everybody’s ready for nationals,” Ms. Sinclair said.

The national competition will be streamed on social media platforms of the JCDC as well as live on TVJ.

“Everybody can see all the ladies on show representing their parishes and country. That time, as well, is where they will have all the prizes coming in [and] everybody wants to go for the prizes and also the chance to be crowned the Jamaica Festival Queen to represent their country,” Ms. Sinclair said.

Tickets for the live shows are available at the parish offices of the JCDC or from the Head office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue in Kingston.

“It’s first come, first serve, because there’s a limit to the capacity. So, pick up your tickets [and] if you’re not able to attend, you can join online on the social media platforms. There will be the YouTube channel, [and] it will also be televised live,” she added.

For young women interested in entering the Festival Queen Competition in the future, Ms. Sinclair is encouraging them to start by getting involved in their communities.

“The first step is to ensure that they participate in some form of community activities, because one of the rules is that you have to be involved in some shape or form, and then the entry is simple. It usually opens anywhere between November and December, the year before the show. There’s normally an online application form, so persons can read the requirements, and once you fit those criteria you can enter,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity for young women to showcase their talents, to showcase their involvement in their communities and also for them to build and to fellowship with other women,” Ms. Sinclair added.