BELAIR--It is officially Queen Show season with the first event that can crown the next Teen, Senior and Mature Queens hosted at the Belair Community Centre on Sunday. The show saw contestants from the three major pageants debate issues affecting the island.
The 2016 TelCell Carnival Queen contestants debated major issues such as teenage pregnancy, abuse, crime and many more that affect St. Maarten. The judges were present for the debate and the contestants’ scores will added to their final scores on the nights of their respective pageants.The sold-out event was attended by Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports Silveria Jacobs, President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams and Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard.
One question that stood out during the debate was posed by moderator Rolando Tobias: “How would you convince somebody who wants to go abroad for medical treatment to use St. Maarten Medical Center?” The audience started to chuckle and delegates did not hold back to answer.
“We need to educate our young people to go in the field of specialists that we need. This will allow our hospital to have the same specialists some other countries have,” said contestant #5 Vivienne Horsford.
Posh Productions founder, president and CEO Anna Rabess-Richardson told The Daily Herald she was happy with the outcome of the first show.
Posh Productions Incorporated is an event and entertainment agency established in St. Maarten with a dedicated goal to provide and promote wholesome entertainment in the areas of fashion, arts, music, theatre, pageantry and all other forms of unified community enhancement events.
Its mission is to promote philanthropy through strong community-based services and involvement, while flooding the community with “fearless, authentic, and intelligent role models,” and its vision to “foster goodwill ambassadors by encouraging individual growth, personal platforms and community involvement, and awarding scholarships for educational and/or career advancement.”
The company “celebrates women for having the courage and confidence to embrace their natural beauty with pride while presenting their inner beauty to the world.”
“While there are many stereotypical opinions about pageantry, the emphasis of talent, interview, platforms, and question-answer segments, is affirmation of how pageants have moved away from aesthetics and require contestants to be well-spoken, knowledgeable, and graceful young ladies who are passionate about a purpose,” Rabess-Richardson said.
“As a former queen I think that we have raised the level of pageantry on the island and I look forward to the shows later this month. On Saturday coming we will be having a Healthy Body/Swimsuit and Sportswear competition at the Belair Community Centre.” She encouraged pageant-lovers to come and support the girls.
