Miss Lotto wins Miss SVG 2011 crown

After securing the judges’ nod at Saturday night’s show, Aviar Charles’ name will now take a place in Vincentian history books as the 56th winner of the Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) pageant.{{more}}

On May 28, at the Victoria Park, Charles, Miss Lotto, fought off competition from eight other contestants to secure the title of Miss SVG 2011.

Not content with just the winner’s crown, the 23-year-old also bagged the awards for Most Community Spirited and Best Interview.

Charles, who is employed as a junior reporter at the Agency for Public Information, admitted that preparing for the competition was no easy feat, but the challenge made her victory all the sweeter.

She pointed out that nothing good in life is achieved without hard work.

“That’s exactly what I did, and look, it paid off!”

This year’s show had a substantially larger turnout than in previous years, with patrons crowding around the stage barriers to cheer on their favourites.

First runner-up was awarded to Miss Super 6 Jamie Delplesche, and second runner-up was taken by Miss Jergens Sheridan Haynes. Delplesche also won Miss Photogenic and Best Swimwear.

Miss Caribbean Medical Imaging Centre Rickesha Douglas won Miss Congeniality. Best Talent went to Ladisha Ballantyne, Miss Agricultural Input Warehouse, who performed a monologue and song combination titled ‘Imagine That’, about the male versus female perspectives on marriage and relationships.

Shemon Baptiste, Miss Mustique Company Ltd, won the well-deserved title of Best Evening Gown with ‘Legend of the Black Pearl’ – a stunning black and silver dress designed and made by local clothing designer Kimon Baptiste.

The event, which was hosted by Kahlil Cato and Theresa Daniel, got off to a prompt start, with contestants strutting their stuff in four judged categories.

There was a guest appearance by the first ever Carnival Queen, Audrey Hazell-Gomes, who won the competition in 1951.

Guest artistes included Arabesque Dance Company, South East Steel Orchestra, Aurella ‘Queen B’ Beache, Armstrong ‘Strong’ Williams, Gloria Williams, and Shernelle ‘Skarpyon’ Williams.

The featured artiste on the night was McCartha ‘Calypso Rose’ Lewis.