A 40-minute shower just before the Swimwear segment put a damper on the Miss Carival pageant Saturday night, and the show never fully recovered.
The talent performances, often the highlight of the regional pageants, were generally unentertaining, and didn’t help to revive the evening.
But, contrary to most beauty pageants in St. Vincent, the delegates performed well in the interview segment, with the notable exception being Miss Dominican Republic, who refused the interpreter provided and struggled to answer her questions in English.
At the end, the panel of judges from across the region concluded that the Dominican delegate, Leslassa Armour-Shillingford, had outperformed the other contenders in all by one of the four judged categories and awarded her the crown.
Armour-Shillingford trumped the Talent, Interview, and Evening Gown segment, leaving the Best Swimwear segment to Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Shara George, who placed Second Runner-up behind Miss St. Kitts and Nevis, Zinga Imo.
Full results:
- Miss Carival 2013: Miss Dominica, Leslassa Armour-Shillingford
- 1st Runner-up: Miss St. Kitts and Nevis, Zinga Imo
- 2nd Runner-up: Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Shara George
- Best Swimwear: Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadine, Shara George
- Best Talent: Miss Dominica, Leslassa Armour-Shillingford
- Best Evening Wear: Miss Dominica, Leslassa Armour-Shillingford
- Best Interview: Miss Dominica, Leslassa Armour-Shillingford
- Miss Congeniality: Miss Dominican Republic, Rosa Martinez
- Miss Congeniality: Miss Dominican Republic, Republic Rosa Martinez
- Most Photogenic: Miss Dominica, Leslassa Armour-Shillingford.
For yet another year, patrons had to endure the boredom of remarks from chair of the Carnival Development Corporation and Minister of Culture at the beginning of the show. (Click for photos of the winners in the various categories)
And, with that and the fireworks out of the way, the show got off to an energetic start with a stunning performance by Aretha Shallow and company.
Shallow, the opening act, set the stage for what up to then promised to be a rather entertaining evening.
The contestant then made their first appearance in their national costumes to introduce themselves and to tantalise patron about what to expect from their respective performances.
Guest artiste, Orande “Bomani” Charles, was up next and he served just enough from his repertoire of ragga soca to massage the palate of patron enough to cause them to salivate for more.
But by the time Bomani’s performance was over, patron at the front of the stage, from whom contestants often seem to gauge their performance and draw energy, had already scampered for cover as rain began to fall.
The heavy downpour continued for about 40 minutes before contestants could come back on stage for the first judged appearance — in swimwear. (Click for photos of contestants in swimwear)
The rain continued during the Swimwear segment and most patrons remained in the pavilions, with only few returning or remaining in front of the stage, using umbrella to shield themselves during the downpours that ensued.
In this category, the judges were looking at elegance — 5 points, Poise and Carriage — 7 points, Figure — 6 points, Fit — 4 points, and Style — 3 points.
Miss SVG, Shara George, won this category with a provocative one-piece swimsuit, the lower parts of which covered the bare essentials — or, depending on one’s perspective, barely covered the essentials.
The Talent segment of the show, while of a high standard, did not have any pieces that were particularly funny — something that often resonates with Vincentian patrons.
Miss Jamaican did generate some laughter with her dramatization of an insane man speaking about the pleasure of his life.
But Miss Dominica won that segment with a performance about domestic violence that combined performance poetry, creative dance and ballet on point,
She also won the interview category, responding to a question about how her education in different countries has impacted her school life, and another about what she would change in society and why.
Alston Beckett Cyrus — the ABC of Calypso — was the featured act at Friday’s show.
Miss Carival is widely regarded as the “most prestigious” regional pageant.
And while pageant goers say it is a few rungs above other regional pageants, after 28 shows, carnival planner here might consider it an appropriate time to relook the show, including emceeing, the manner in which sponsors are thanked and other thinks that contribute to its excessive length.
The show began at 8 p.m. and ended at 2 a.m., and some patrons commented that the length was more like Dimanche Gras, rather than Miss Carival.