Miss Kingston and St Andrew takes Festival Queen crown

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Krystle Daleyrt, Miss Kingston and St Andrew, was on Saturday night crowned Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2011.

The 24-year-old television host and customer care representative beat back the challenges brought by Terry-Ann Virtue, Miss St Catherine, and Lisanie Gayle, Miss Westmoreland, to break a five-year drought for her parish in the competition and claim several hundred thousand dollars in cash and prizes that included $500,000 cash from the Chase Fund, a three-piece living room suite and lamps from Singer as well as a Blackberry phone from Claro.

In a colourful ceremony themed 'Journey to Dreamland', before an almost capacity crowd that gathered at the National Arena, Daleyrt, who was one of several contestants to boast her own cheering section, each member of which held aloft letters spelling out her name, dominated the sectional prizes on her way to the title.

Before the final five contestants were announced, Miss Kingston and St Andrew copped the prizes of Most Congenial, Most Poised, the prize for Community Involvement and Most Culturally Aware, which earned her almost $95,000 in cash.

Winning costume design

Her costume design, too, also topped the rest but that prize - sewing machines from Singer - went to the costume's designer. Miss Westmoreland won the prize for Best Performance for her outstanding speech piece called Vision Pot that totally captivated and engaged the animated audience; as well as the prize for the Best Interpretation of the Vision 2030 theme. Miss Portland, Nicole Hopkins was the Popular Vote winner.

Daleyrt was still in disbelief that she had actually won it all long after the contest was over. "I'm surprised because the contestants, they were really qualified, they were equally capable, they were equally talented," said the young woman who also won a year's accommodation from Christar Villas as well as an all-inclusive weekend courtesy of Sunset Resorts. "I am quite excited, surprised, but I am equally grateful because this is a dream come true for me. I always wanted this from I was a child. I have always wanted to be the festival queen."

But on a night when Daleyrt was most outstanding, several of the other contestants also shined. Miss Clarendon Sadra Sutherland delivered a powerful performance, singing I Love Me as did Miss St Mary Peta Gaye Stewart. Miss St Ann Rica Kelly also delivered well during the talent section but it was Miss Westmoreland that stole their hearts. Dressed as a witch, the 19-year-old student of the Sam Sharpe Teacher's College, during her recital called Vision Pot, totally captured the audience who cheered at the wit and the infectious rhythm of her chants about what is required to take Jamaica forward as a nation towards Vision 2030. She drew cheers and as she chanted, they chanted along with her. "Gi me you dis, gi me you dat, gi mi di dream wey you got, come mek mi mix it in mi vision pot ... "

The ladies were also outstanding in their parish costumes and radiant in their evening gowns before the final five were chosen. The five - Miss Kingston and St Andrew, Miss Westmoreland, Miss St Catherine, Miss St Elizabeth, and Miss St James - were each asked a question by host Queen Dahlia Harris, the 1990 queen. Of the five, Miss St Elizabeth and Miss Westmoreland flubbed their responses to questions about the benefits to pursuing alternative sources of energy and the motivations for entering the competition, respectively. Miss St Catherine, meantime, was the most outstanding in her response to a question on how technology has impacted the country.

Hosts Dahlia Harris and Donald 'Iceman' Anderson were engaging throughout the evening. Late in the programme, Anderson performed a pretty song called Wifey before giving way to Cherine who delivered a solid, engaging set that included her latest single Call on Me that she performed with Chuck Fenda. There were also performances by Michael Sean Harris backed by his band De Vices and Xaymaca Dance Company.