SEMI-FINALISTS in the upcoming Miss Tobago pageant say the experience thus far has been phenomenal.
The pageant is being held on February 4 at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, but the semi-finals take place on January 21 at the Terrace, Comfort Inn & Suites, Scarborough, from 5 pm.
The winner will represent the island at the next Miss World TT pageant in Port of Spain. The Miss World competition takes place on December 16, 2024, at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, India.
Coco Velvet International Fashion and Model Management is producing the pageant, with support from the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) Division of Community Development, Youth Development and Sport and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Sport and Culture Fund.
Monique Joseph, who is representing the fishing village of Speyside, said entering the pageant has enabled her to grow as an individual.
“Tobago is a small space and pageants are few and far apart. So when I saw it, it was something I immediately wanted to be a part of. And so far, it has exceeded my expectations,” she said in an interview on December 1.
Joseph said she considers it an honour to represent her village.
[caption id="attachment_1049008" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Miss World 1986 Giselle La Ronde-West, third from right in front row, with some of the Miss Tobago delegates during a recent rehearsal session at the Scarborough Library. - COREY CONNELLY[/caption]
“I always try to be a role model for young persons, even in my community and among my peers. We really need to see ourselves as queens throughout life. I don’t need a crown to portray grace, confidence and poise. These are the types of things that you have to normalise in young girls.”
She said the pageant team, comprising Miss World 1986 Giselle Laronde-West, communications practitioner Ricia Ali-Lindow and others, “have really poured into us by boosting our self-confidence, teaching us about deportment, diet. It has really been an unforgettable experience so far.”
Joseph said she was very concerned about violence in the society.
“Sometimes it stems from different issues such as poverty and education. So that is a topic that is truly important.”
She is working on a literacy enhancement project for the pageant.
“I want to help young people in Speyside and environs to learn the basics of reading and writing. Some students are truly left behind and they give up and end up not passing their exams and not being able to enter the workforce.
"So I think this initiative is really going to help, in a wider picture, to deter persons from violence because they are going to be doing something positive with themselves."
[caption id="attachment_1049006" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Miss Calder Hall Tia Santana-Small and Miss New Grange Jelani Lovelace have fun at the Buccoo Boardwalk in Ted Arthur leather collection, clothing and accessories.Fashion styling and art direction by Christopher Nathan.Makeup: Letts Shine Ltd, Crown Point - courtesy Kerron Riley[/caption]
Joseph said contestants must also be
