Hanover, St. Mary and Kingston are the Three Latest Parishes to Crown Festival Queen

Hanover, St. Mary and Kingston &St. Andrew are the three latest parishes to crown their Festival Queens, who will represent them in the upcomingMiss Jamaica Festival QueenNational Competition this August.

Miss Hanover Festival Queen 2021, Danielle Miller.The competition, which is a staple of the annual Independence Festival celebrations, seeks to find the 13 most culturally aware, intelligent and poised young women from across the island - one from each parish, to give them a chance of becoming a national cultural ambassador as the reigning Miss Jamaica Festival Queen.

The three newly crowned queens are: Miss Hanover - Danielle Miller, a 20 year old, tertiary student; Miss St. Mary - Claudia Campbell, a 25 year old teacher and Miss Kingston & St. Andrew -Tamoy Campbell, a 21 year old, Law student.

All three parishes held their individual coronations on Saturday, June 26, and now join seven other parishes which have already chosen their Festival Queens.

The previously selected queens are: Miss Manchester - Dominique Reid, a 25 year old Dentist;Miss Clarendon - Dennae Mills, a 21 year old Student; Miss St. James – Morganne Kellier, a 23 year old, Law student; Miss St. Ann - Amanda Marsh, a 21 year old student; Miss Portland -Olecia Robinson, a 24 year old, Customer Service Agent; Miss St. Catherine - Kemoy Perry, a 21 year old Law student and Miss Westmoreland - Nakinskie Robinson, a 21 year old student.

“We are elated to be able to host our annual parish coronations this year, as we were unable to host them last year because of the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. These parish coronations are essential to the staging of the national competition, and though we are still unable host our usual grand showcases that each parish is known for, the 2021 coronations have evolved into a private two-day affair,”said Mrs. Marjorie Leyden-Kirton, Executive Director (Acting) at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).

She continued, “Our contestants spend two days with our adjudicators. On day one they do a pre-judging, where they are interviewed at length, so that our judges may learn more about them and their accomplishments; and then on day two, the official coronation day, they present their cultural performance pieces to the judges, and are also judged on their walk and poise and on an interview question.” Miss Kingston and St. Andrew Festival Queen 2021,Tamoy Campbell.

“We congratulate all our parish queens who have been crowned so far, as we know that they are outstanding young women, and to make it to this level of the competition is no easy feat. We also look forward to the upcoming crowning of our three final parish queens as the national competition continues to heat up,” Leyden-Kirton continued.

The three remaining parishes, St. Thomas, St. Elizabeth and Trelawny will each see their coronations taking place on Wednesday June 30.

Parish Coronations:

Manchester was the first parish to crown its Queen, on Tuesday, June 15 at Neil’s Auditorium, Mandevilla Place in Mandeville. Miss Dominque Reid, a 25 year old dentist was crowned with the winning title and also walked away with two of the four sectional awards,Most Culturally Awareand Most Active in the Community. First Runner Up went to Shantal Farquharson, a 22 year old teacher, who also took home the sectional award for Best Performance, while Second Runner Up went to Rusheal Hall, a 22 year old tertiary student, and Piqueena Burrell received the sectional awardfor Most Poised.

Clarendon and St. James were next, with both parishes hosting their Coronations on Thursday June 17. Clarendon’s coronation was held at the Youth Information Centre in May Pen and saw Dennae Mills, a 21 year old tertiary student being crowned as its 2021 Festival Queen. Mills also received the sectional awards for Best Performance and Most Active in the Community. First Runner Up went to Denecia Powell, a 23 year old student, who also received the sectional award for Most Culturally Aware, while Kelly-Ann Dennis, a 23 year old student was named Second Runner Up and Most Poised.

Miss St. Mary Festival Queen 2021, Claudia Campbell.Meanwhile, St. James held its coronation at the Montego Bay Cultural Arts Centre, and crowned Morganne Kellier, a 23 year old Law student is its 2021 Festival Queen, with Kellier receiving three of the four sectional awards: Most Active in the Community, Best Performance and Most Culturally Aware. Garcia Johnson, a 24 year old teacher was named First Runner Up and Most Poised; while Second Runner Up went to Seidrene Malcolm, a 24 year old Youth Social Worker.

St. Ann held their Coronation on Tuesday, June 22 at the Cardiff Hotel in Runaway Bay, and it was Amanda Marsha, a 21 year old tertiary student who walked away with the crown as well as three of the four sectional awards, for: Best Performance, Most Culturally Aware and Most Active in the Community. First Runner Up and Most Poised went to Kizwani Todd, a 22 year old student, while Second Runner Up went to Eden Palmer, a 24 year old entrepreneur.

Portland, St. Catherine and Westmoreland all held their Coronations on Thursday, June 24. Portland’s coronation was held at the Hotel Tim Bamboo in Port Antonio and saw Olecia Robinson, a 24 year old customer service agent being crowned as its 2021 Festival Queen, with Robinson also being awarded three of the four sectional awards, for: Most Culturally Aware, Best Performance and Most Active in the Community. Noelee Samuels a 25 year old Customer Service Manager was named First Runner Up, while Second Runner Up and Most Poised went to Deon Richards, a 22 year old tertiary student.

The Miss St. Catherine Festival Queen 2021 coronation was held at the Essex Advancement Centre in Spanish Town, and saw Kemoy Perry, a 22 year old Law student, now only receive the winning crown, but also sweep the competition’s sectional awards, receiving all four awards for: Best Performance, Most Active in the Community, Most Culturally Aware and Most Poised. Meanwhile, 20 year old student, Michalee Brown was named First Runner Up, and Second Runner Up went to Kerissa Palomino, also a student.

Westmoreland’s coronation was held at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall in Savanna La Mar and saw Nakinskie Robinson, a 21 year old tertiary student receiving the title Miss Westmoreland Festival Queen 2021, as well as the sectional prize for Most Poised. First Runner Up went to Tashane Whittingham, a 24 year old entrepreneur and Life Skills coach, while Second Runner Up went to Petegay Gentles, a 20 year old student, who also received the sectional awards for Most Active in the Community and Most Culturally Aware. Finalist Natasha Hall also received the sectional award forBest Performance.

Hanover, Kingston and St. Mary also held their coronations on the same day, Saturday, June 26. Hanover held its coronation at the Global Villa Hotel in Lucea and saw 22 year old tertiary student, Danielle Miller being crowned Miss Hanover Festival Queen, as well as receive the sectional awards for Best Performance and Most Culturally Aware. First Runner Up went to Sornia Samuels, a 23 year old student, who also received the award for Most Active in the Community, while Second Runner Up went to Shanoya Francis, a 22 year old Entertainment Coordinator, who also also named Most Poised.

Meanwhile, Kingston and St. Andrew held its coronation at the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, and crowned Tamoy Campbell, a 21 year old Law student as its 2021 Festival Queen. Tamoy also received the sectional awards for Most Active in the Community and Most Culturally Aware. First Runner Up went to Nassalie Brown, a 24 year old Attorney at Law, while Second Runner Up and the sectional awards for Best Performance and Most Poised went to Trishana Burgher, a 25 year old Human Resource Officer.

St. Mary’s coronation was held at the Casa Maria Hotel in Port Maria and saw Claudia Campbell, a 25 year old teacher being crowned Miss St. Mary Festival Queen, and also received the sectional awards for Most Active in the Community and Most Culturally Aware. Second Runner Up went to Glecean Cox, a 21 year old Customer Service Representative, who also took home the sectional awards for Best Performance and Most Poised, while Second Runner Up went to Olivia Havey, a 23 year old Administrative Assistant.