Miss SVG 2011 Show

Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines 2011 Aviar Charles never expected to win the coveted title but now that she has, the 23-year-old has her eyes set on the Miss Carival crown.

Charles won the Miss SVG crown (which comes with an EC$80,000 university scholarship and EC$12,000 cash) last Saturday May 28th at Carnival City Victoria Park. She will face nine regional beauties on Friday July 1st during the Miss Carival show which this year is being held under the theme, “26 years of exquisite pageantry 1985-2011”.

On winning Charles said, “I am elated and thankful and overjoyed as it was not something I expected because the competition was really really tight”.
She added, “all of the girls wanted it but I have always said that you have to work hard for what you want and you have to want it more than all the other girls”.

The Welcome resident added that on the night of the show, “I was a bit worried about how I was doing and I knew I needed to bring everything not just 100% but more than that”.
Pushed mostly by the promise of a scholarship, Charles said that she was never the pageant type but opted to take part after interviewing the 2010 contestants as part of her job.

“I was never that kind of person, the stylish pageant girl”, she said while revealing, “I actually grew up in church so the pageant thing was out of it for me but then I went to the first one last year and I really wanted a scholarship so I said the show seemed like a great opportunity for me to get a scholarship”.
Charles who has been employed at API since 2009 but has been in the media since 2007 will like the public’s support coming into Miss Carival, “I want the Vincentian public to come out and support their own on July 1st as this is a different playing field, a different ball game and I know it will be more rigorous and I have already started to make preparations”.

The daughter of Andina and Errol Charles who is the youngest in a family of four children used her interview opportunity to thank the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) and the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for allowing her and others the opportunity to pursue a university education.
“The scholarship is a great incentive and it shows that the CDC and the Government really want young women to come out and make something of themselves and I think the scholarship for the Miss SVG winner is something that they should keep”, said Charles who encouraged other young ladies to try their hand at the pageant.

“Sometimes the public can be really harsh but at the end of the day you have to know what you really want”, stressed Charles.
En route to the crown, Charles also gained recognition for being the most community spirited contestant. She also grabbed the most points during her interview session with Master of Ceremonies Theresa Daniel.

She says that she plans to take up her scholarship next year at the University of the West Indies (UWI). She will pursue studies in communications Management in either Barbados or Jamaica. The petite lass said that her success was aided by among others Annette Francois (Chaperone) and Rochelle Ollivierre.

“There are many persons that were instrumental in my success and formed part of my support system”, said Charles who was sponsored by the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) and contested the pageant as Miss Lotto.

In the first runner up position was Miss Super Six Jamie Delpesche. The Barrouallie resident also gained the judges nod in the swimwear category of the pageant while she was also voted by the photographers to be the Most Photogenic contestant. In the second runner up position was Calliaqua resident Miss Jergens Sheridan Haynes. Miss Agricultural Input Warehouse Ladisha Ballantyne was judged to have performed the best talent while Miss Mustique Company Limited Shemon Baptiste wearing a dress designed by her sister Kimon Baptiste was given the nod as having modeled the best evening wear. Miss Caribbean Medical Imaging Center Rickesha Douglas was voted by the other contestants to be the friendliest. She was given an award for being Miss Congeniality.

The other contestants were Miss Lime Shenika Bascombe, Miss Vita Malt Shakeira Cottle and Miss Metrocint General Insurance Kennlyn Fisher.
The second place winner will receive from CDC a cheque for EC$5000 while third place will get EC$3000, all other contestants will receive EC$1000.
The Miss SVG show was held for the first time in 1951. It was won by Audrey Hazell (now Hazell-Gomes) a then resident of the Grenadine Island of Bequia who walked away with EC$50. On the night of the show (Saturday May 28th), Hazell-Gomes made an appearance and was greeted with cheers and applause from the crowd.

The show had as MCs Kahlil ‘Gruv’ Cato and Theresa Daniel. Minister of Culture Frederick Stephenson gave brief remarks on the night while patrons also witnessed performances by the Arabesque Dance Company, the South East Steel Orchestra and the three 2011 New Song competition winners in the form of Aurella ‘Queen Bee’ Beache, Armstrong ‘Strong’ Williams and Shernelle ‘Skarpyon’ Williams.
McArtha Linda Sandy-Lewis, better known as Calypso Rose, Calypso Queen of the world was the featured artiste on the night.

28,05.2011 - Story by Lyf Compton