Let Love Win! | Mother and Daughter winners reflect on pageant
Germaine Jacques and Kia (Photo by Delano Williams)
Germaine Jacques and Kia (Photo by Delano Williams)

HUNDREDS of persons who turned out to the Mother and Daughter Pageant last Saturday evening were quite pleased with their new queens and princesses, even as many are calling it the stiffest competition hosted to date.

The pageant took place at the National Cultural Centre last Saturday and, while beginning with 42 contestants, the contestants were narrowed down to six by the end of the night of beauty and creativity branded with the theme, ‘Love’s Kaleidoscope’
Having never thought that they would be a part of a pageant, let alone win the senior segment, Germaine Jacques and Kia had their first experience with no prior training and managed to steal the hearts of the crowd.

They flowed delicately across the stage in their glittering gold gowns designed by Quinton Pearson and demonstrated togetherness and gracefulness which managed to catch the judges’ attention.

Marcia Abrams and Nomarra (Photo by Delano Williams)

Germaine is a mother of four and works at the Eureka Medical Laboratory (EML) in Georgetown and is President of the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown Central, while her daughter Kia is first-year biology student at the University of Guyana.
Speaking with Germaine she revealed that she was encouraged to be a part of the pageant by her boss, EML’s Chief Executive Officer, William Boyle.
Germaine recounted that although rehearsals were challenging due to her other responsibilities, the experience helped to forge a stronger bond between her and her daughter.

“It’s been a good experience bonding. I think every mother bonds with their child or children but, as they grow, people change. When they’re little they spend a lot of time with their mothers but when they’re grown, it’s different because they have their friends, they have school so you don’t spend that much time together,” she said. “But with this pageant…it forced us to spend more time together because we had to go to rehearsals so it did [bring us closer together], it really did.”

Germaine says she is very proud of her daughter’s performance and proud of herself and now recommends that other mothers and daughters take advantage of the experience in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Middle Category winners Shonette Vyphuis and Saniyah, perhaps were the most creative with their transformative dresses which changed from one colour to the next by the end of their performance.
The colours of pink and purple are favourites of Saniyah and were used to create silk dresses, beautifully crafted by Francois Designs with roses demonstrating their gratitude and love for each other and nature.

Speaking with Shonette, she said that the pageant wasn’t her daughter’s first as she previously participated in the Kids Fest pageant. She added that Saniya was also very eager to enter this pageant since she was four years old.
She says that preparing for the pageant was her favourite part and the experience had a positive impact on all who took part.

“I would recommend it because if they’re having a bonding problem, I would have had firsthand experience with the mothers and daughters and you see that after the pageant they may not have been transformed completely but being able to spend some more time with their mothers and the daughters, that [problematic] part of it is eliminated,” Shonette said.

The winners of the Junior Category, Marcia Abrams and Nomarra ticked all the boxes of the judges’ grading criteria when they took to the stage in green and white outfits designed by Olympia Small.
The two aced their routines delivering cool dress surprises at the end which caused the crowd to break out in synchronised ‘awws’.

In an interview with The Buzz, Marcia said that while she has been a part of other pageants in the past, this is the first time she has shared this experience with her daughter.
“The experience was different…this is like a one in a million experience to actually be modelling with your daughter and showing the love and the bond on the stage,” she said.
Young Nomarra will celebrate her seventh birthday on Sunday and her mother revealed that it was the young girl’s idea for the two to enter the pageant since they share a very close relationship.
“We went to the pageant last year and then she was like, ‘Mommy I want to be a part of this’,” Marcia said, adding that Nomarra was very excited to be present at the rehearsals.

At the same function, special tributes were made to the late Reona Payne who was killed by her reputed husband and was a past contestant in the 2015 competition, which is hosted annually by Supa Stylistics Promotions co-founders Ingrid Fung and Dr. Sulan Fung.
Dr. Fung revealed that when news reached the team about Payne’s demise, they were very saddened to hear this about the woman they had grown to “share fond memories” with.
Dr. Fung expounded: “We found it very necessary as women producing a Mother and Daughter pageant that we should speak out against domestic violence…with our theme, we’re trying to say let love win no matter what you go through in life…let us not let the broken parts of us get the best of us,”

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