Recording artiste takes Miss Hanover Festival Queen crown
Published:Monday | June 12, 2023 | 12:53 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
An audience of more than 200 waited patiently Saturday night, despite a one hour and 10 minutes power outage, to witness the crowning of 19-year-old recording artiste Tricia Cunningham as the 2023 Miss Hanover Festival Queen.
The Miss Hanover Festival Queen 2023 coronation show, started promptly at 8 p.m. in the Bioprist Auditorium (formerly Jockey Factory) in the capital, Lucea, with six contestants competing for the top honour and other sectional prizes, and a packed auditorium with a lively group of family and friends of the participants.
It was half an hour after introducing the contestants to the audience that the auditorium went dark, and after a few phone calls the word started to spread that all of western Hanover and several other parts of the island were in darkness due to a Jamaica Public Service power outage. None of the audience moved, however. They all held their seats for the approximately one hour and 10 minutes, as if they were prepared to hold their grounds for the night, if necessary.
Once the power returned, it was all shouts of joy and excitement, as the organisers from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Hanover office got the show started quickly and went through the paces as if nothing happened, much to the appreciation of the packed auditorium.
The six contestants were taken through their paces, doing a dance as a group, each doing cultural presentations, parading in evening gowns, and then being interviewed. All were from different areas in the parish and had varied backgrounds: two being students in high schools, one an external auditor, one a customer service representative, one a teacher of English language and literature in a high school in the parish, and another a recording artiste, all ranging in ages from 18 to 25 years.
When the results were read out to loud shouting and cheering at about 11 p.m., 18-year-old high-school student, contestant Diannjra Wilson, was awarded Most Active in the Community, while the sectional prize for Most Poised went to 22-year-old Shaloam Gardner, a customer service representative; and Most Congenial to 22-year-old Gizzel McGowan, a high-school teacher.
It was the recording artiste, 19-year-old Tricia Cunningham, of Greenland, who walked away with three sectional prizes, namely, Most Culturally Aware, Best Performer, and Most Popular on Social Media, and was also crowned Miss Hanover Festival Queen 2023, to loud screams and shouting of approval from the audience.
In an interview with The Gleaner following her crowning, Cunningham stated that she was overjoyed, and that winning the competition meant a lot to her.
“I have recorded approximately six songs to date, they are all out on my social media platforms. I go by the artist name Tristar, and you can find the songs on YouTube, Spotify and all other social media platforms,” she stated.
She argued that she will be using her new platform as the parish Festival Queen as a means of helping other youngsters, especially from her community of Greenland, through mentoring, motivating and encouraging them to follow their dreams.
“I believe that this is the year for Hanover to excel, as I intend to take back the national crown to the parish,” she emphasised with confidence.
Cunningham lists her hobbies as singing, dancing, composing music, listening to music, and travelling.