Nine young women were last Saturday evening sashed as this year’s Miss Earth Guyana contestants at the Theatre Guild, Kingston. The ‘Super9 Earth Warriors,’ as they have been dubbed, will be competing in various preliminaries leading up to the coronation night slated for June 15.
Being an environment-oriented pageant, Miss Earth Guyana has a theme every year that coincides with various aspects of the earth. This year’s theme is ‘Flora of Guyana’. The contestants have taken names of various flowers. Phelicia Adams is Dwarf Morning Glory; Amelia Bakhsh, Torch Ginger; Selena Guyadeen, Wakenaam Lilac; Cintiana Harry, Cattleya Orchid; Faydeha King, Sunflower; Marcia Meusa, Buttercup; Kataina Phillips, Flamingo; Sunita Sears, Heliconia and Annesa Van Sluytman, Hibiscus.
The evening began with the National Anthem, followed by the video of last year’s Beauty for a Cause.
The audience was treated to drumming by the Dynamic Tassa Troupe which toned down and lingered in the background as each contestant made her way onstage and introduced herself, after which the host of the evening, former host of Guyana Today, Marisa Morgan-Bonie, shared a bit on the pageant. “Miss Earth Guyana (and Miss Earth for that matter) is a contest with a difference. It gives young women a voice and the opportunity to become advocates for the environment and the world around them, while at the same time calling to action persons from all walks of life to do something, no matter how small, in the aim of protecting and preserving our environment,” she said.
The host went on to say that 2018 was the springboard for the Miss Earth Guyana Organization as it was the year that the pageant officially returned to Guyana. Xamiera Kippins took the title and in the international leg, won gold and silver medals for her national costume and talent respectively.
Director of Tourism Donald Sinclair spoke words of encouragement to the contestants and applauded their courageous effort to participate in the pageant.
A portion of the ceremony was used to commemorate Earth Hour, as last Saturday was World Earth Day. Earth Hour is an entire hour designated by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature for the symbolic switching off of lights to focus efforts on preserving the earth’s biodiversity. Lights in the Theatre Guild lights were turned off for 15 minutes, as Guyana joined with almost 200 other countries that also celebrated Earth Hour.
Miss Earth Guyana Water, Akisha Payne and Miss Earth Guyana Air, Luann Pellew made onstage appearances to take their final walks which preceded the sashing of the contestants. With the reigning queen away on an overseas commitment, Akisha and Luann sashed the 2019 contestants.
The Beauty of Face and Poise and Intelligence segments are slated for Sunday, April 28; the Beauty for a Cause Presentation is Saturday, May 25 and the Talent/ Recycle Fashion Show, Saturday, June 1, before the mid-June coronation.
The prize package for this year totaling $1.2 million includes gold, silver and bronze medals as well as trophies, bouquets, branding opportunities, weekend Essequibo Island tour for the runners-up and queen along with beauty products and tokens. This year’s queen will also receive a complete Miss Earth wardrobe, a cash prize of $100,000 and more.
Other special items on the evening’s program included performances by AW Lyrical, Mr Guyana African Roots Eon Peters and Tiffani Boner.
The following day the contestants met and greeted members of the public at the National Stadium. Today the ladies will be engaged in a clean-up along the Kingston Sea-wall (Bandstand).
The Miss Earth Guyana Organization wishes to acknowledge their sponsors: DemBake, Nand Persaud Group of Companies, Massy Stores, Precise Printing, Marsae, Dynamic Tassa Troupe, Who’s Who in Business Guyana, Java Coffee Bar and Bistro, MakeUp Glamour and the departments of Culture and Tourism.
