By Faith Greene
THE National Cultural Centre (NCC) was in a state of frenzy last Saturday as 22 pairs of mothers and daughters graced the stage for the 30th Mother and Daughter Pageant.

This year, the pageant’s theme, ‘The Year of the Pearl, Our Love is Thirty’, was elegantly displayed with bright lights, crafted jellyfish, clam shells on both sides of the stage, foggy mists, and little and large pearls. There was also a screen displaying bubbles, which added to the underwater effect of the evening.

The judges of this year’s pageant had tough decisions to make as mothers and daughters in each category gave their all to their presentations. Dresses in all designs, colours, and sizes glided around from one end of the stage to the other as contestants warmly showcased their love for each other on stage.

In the end, three pairs of mothers and daughters emerged as the Queens and Princesses of the pageant. The winners of the Junior Category were: Leanne Hernandez and Ja’Nae; middle category: Shanice Simon and Le Shaunte; and in the senior category: Natasha Brandt- Johnson and Jadiamond Johnson.

The mother and daughter pageant exceeded the expectations of the rows of excited patrons who showed their support and gave their attention to the excellent performances of all on stage. The Supa Stylistics team and the Fung family have done a remarkable job honouring the pearl in their theme.

The pageant is the brainchild of Ingrid Fung and the late Gwyn Wiltshire, who, 30 years ago, were teachers at St. Joseph High School when they embarked on this journey that has exposed many mothers and daughters to the world of pageantry, which in turn has brought them closer together.

Meanwhile, companies such as Igloo, (which offered free samples of their new sugar free ice cream), Bistro Wine and Champagne Bar, DeSinco Trading, Guyana Beverages Inc, Royal Castle and so on, met attendees of the event on Chung’s Global red carpet in the NCC’s lobby.

Additionally, the pageant had three categories – Junior, Middle and Senior – where contestants were judged based on the creativity and design of their outfit, the appropriateness or how well it fits the theme or event they would be attending, and much more.

Mrs. Fung and her daughter, Dr. Sulan Fung have in recent years been the face of the pageant as the pageant’s producers, but behind the scenes, other members of the Fung family have provided tremendous amounts of help through training and pageant coaching, set design, and hosting, just to name a few.

The Saturday night pageant featured a few concert performances from outstanding local artistes; Timeka Marshall, Jumo Primo, Nekeita, Jacky Jaxx, Calvin Burnett and Vicadi Singh.
As time grew closer to the end, a beautiful pearl drop was seen while the crowd of excited pageant goers danced and sang along in their seats.