The search to find Miss WIADCA 2017 is on and will end on Sept. 23 with the coronation of the first monarch to rule a carnival kingdom.
Already nine contestants, aged 17 to 26 representing Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been sashed to compete against Caribbean nationals from Haiti, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Montserrat, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
The royal event in Brooklyn will also feature presentation of special awards to the most congenial queen, the most photogenic and for community service the Miss Carlos Lezama title will honor the most deserved contestant.
Scholarships, trips to the Caribbean, cash and other prizes are added incentives to entering WIADCA’s 50th anniversary celebration pageant.
The theme of this milestone year celebration screams pride in a cultural reality — “From a Dream To A Legacy” and might be considered as a hint to appease the judges.
Focus for crowning will be placed on “overall appearance, self-confidence, poise, sense of style, personality and stage presence, grooming, modeling of gown in terms of technique and the beauty she brings to the gown.”
To punctuate that statement, organizers add that “a gown that complements her and her figure is very important.”
While that floor-length, evening wear is important, each contestant will have to compete in four other areas of competition — swimwear, carnival costume, talent and onstage questioning.
The latter accounts for 25 percent of the total points necessary to wear the crown: “Contestant must be articulate, with excellent conversational skills. She must be able to express herself clearly and diplomatically. Have the ability to communicate to the audience and must be able to state her opinion in a positive, decisive manner.”
Officials also demand that when responding to the pageant judges answers should be “focused on intelligence, diction, quality, and validity.”
The other three heavyweight scoring numbers adds 20 percent each with a test for excellence in the talent, evening gown and costume categories.
“Contestants will be judged on technique, performance and showmanship, appearance and costume, staging and choreography, overall impression.”
Talented queens will be judged on performance which can include pan, dance and poetry
while the use of colors, skills such as wire bending, decorations, use of materials will impact on scoring in the costume category.
More than anything, “the exuberance of the contestant’s portrayal of costume” will factor.
The queen must also snag another 10 percent for her swimwear presentation.
“These gorgeous beauties get to show off their enviable, flawless figures during the swimsuit round of the event.”
And in order to tally a grand total of 100 percent, that first introduction could add another five percent to wearing the WIADCA tiara.
All in all, in every category, each potential queen should “carry herself with dignity, grace, poise and elegance.”
The pageant queen will be crowned at Prospect Heights Campus, 883 Classon Ave. in Brooklyn and is slated to begin at 8 pm.
For more information, visit www.wiadc
