Manchester native cops Festival Queen 2010

Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer

Johnnel Smith, who represented the parish of Manchester, walked away with the coveted title of Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2010 last Saturday.

The well-supported Miss Kingston and St Andrew, Tyesha Turner, was first runner-up and Miss Trelawny, Chloe Trowers, was awarded the second runner-up spot.

Guided by the theme 'Jamaican Women Shaping Our Culture' and staged at the spacious Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, the occasion was marked by a few blunders, a fantastic-looking period set, a display of colourful and lively performances from guest performers and the 13 parish queens.

The contestants, all queens in their own right, made the first of three appearances in long dresses, depicting aspects of their individual parishes. Before they made their entrance, a moat door was lowered unto the recreated courtyard of one of Jamaica's premier historical sites, Fort Charles; and through the door they emerged, to tumultuous applause from a partisan audience.

This first entrance was preceded by a powerful rendition of Jamaica's national anthem by the now grownup-looking Strachan Sisters, Ana and Samantha, and a joyful welcome by the Pirate Captain, played by Shane Powell, and his band of revellers.

Appearance number two came in the form of the talent segment. The common thread seemed to have been interaction, through dreams, with cultural and historical icons such as Louise Bennett and Paul Bogle, with some attack on social and political elements.

And the popular format for presentation was the fusion of art forms such as singing and dancing. The strength of this segment was the refreshing way the contestants highlighted current affairs; the weakness was that some contestants shouted their speeches and songs. This was further compounded by a malfunctioning microphone which, perhaps, affected the presentation of Tashane Grizzle, representing the parish of St James, and Monique Foster of St Elizabeth.

Mix up with votes

But 18-year-old Angelita McDonald, the youngest of the contestants, from the parish of Hanover, was free of the above-mentioned ills. She stole the hearts of the judges and the audience with her sterling performance of an original piece simply titled Manners.

Other sectional prize winners were Most Congenial, Sharna-Gay Brown; Most Poise, Kenisha Allen; and Tyesha Turner, Best Costume.

The most active in her community and most culturally aware were awarded to Smith.

Most Popular Votes was first awarded to Tasha-Gae Wilson of St Thomas. However, this was later overturned and the prize given to Amekia Ramsay of Portland; Wilson was presented with the prize for a new lengthily titled category, The Performer Who Speaks Most To Our Cultural Heritage.

Grace Silvera, acting JCDC executive director, admitted that there was an error in the announcement of the winner for the Most Popular Votes, but the new category was also on the list of sectional prizes and erroneously omitted during that segment of the programme. But young Wilson was not affected, for her, "It was a wonderful experience". Ramsay, on the other hand, was mum, saying that the JCDC public relation and marketing department would have to give permission for an interview.