The Dress and more

My Queen contestant, Destinie. The picture you have all been waiting for. These pics were taking before the festivities, when all the girls were in high spirits. They were told to be there 2 hours before the show and then the show was a grueling 2 1/2 hours.
Destinie made her own cute little purse, which coordinated wonderfully. All the girls did their hair special, in the styles of the day.
After a long night, which I'm sure was worse for all those girls (14) sitting on the stage, they finally got around to the judging.

They are judged by this system

Authenticity of dress 45 %

Personality 15%

Appearance and poise 25 %

Portfolio 15 %

After all that Destinie didn't even place. But I'm really glad I wasn't a judge! 14 girls in beautiful gowns, what a hard decision!

Back stage all the girls were still in high spirits and probably mostly relieved to not be in the spotlight.

For the most part, these 16 year old girls were all very poised and collected. I would have been proud to know any of them.

So how about some more dresses? I got these before the show and before they kicked me out. Unfortunately, I didn't get all the dresses and I didn't even take a pic of the winner.

This girl in blue, Amanda, was the only girl in these pictures to place. She was obviously the local favorite. Whenever they announced her name, the crowd would cheer. She place 2nd runner up.
So there you have it. A Paradise tradition and a brief look at some of the dresses.

I have to admit, I'm glad it's over. But I would probably do it again. I enjoyed the challenge of doing something new and I really did enjoy my time with Destinie. I'm so glad she wasn't a pre-madonna!

Saturday is the parade and the donkey derby. More town traditions. Today all the girls will dress up again and take tours of all the schools. The little kids enjoy this so much! You can just see some of the little girls dreaming of one day being in this contest and having a pretty dress.

Today I'm going to finish up my neighborhood, now that I can breathe. This weekend I probably won't get much more done, but I'll be back on Monday, just like a rash.

Take care, Brandie