Betsy Kline
Castlegar News
Ten lovely and talented young ladies wowed the full house at the Miss Castlegar Pageant last Friday evening. The contestants showcased their talents, gave memorable speeches and exhibited great poise when given an impromptu question to answer. The glitz and glamour of the evening shined when the girls were escorted on stage by a Mountie in full red serge dress uniform during the evening gown presentations.
Emotions ran high with anticipation as the announcement of the 2014 Royalty drew nigh. Alexanderia D’Onofrio, Miss Sunrise Rotary, was crowned Castlegar Princess and Sophie Jansen, Miss Rotary, was crowned Miss Castlegar.
Sophie summed up her feelings by stating, “I feel in shock, like it is not real at all.” Asked about her favourite part of the process, Sophie answered without hesitation, “Bonding with these girls, there are ten gorgeous girls up there it and it was amazing to spend all this time with them. ”Princess Alexanderia expressed similar sentiments, “I’m super excited. The best part was getting to spend time with the ten other girls and getting to become friends with them.”
The speech award was given to Sophie Jansen for her speech, “A mentor, a teacher, a role model” which highlighted her experiences as a volunteer swimming coach. Samantha Skinner was awarded runner up for her speech, “I really do love you,” which showcased her love for her siblings.
The Talent Award went to Lisa Leffalaar for her piano piece by Rachmaninoff. The runner up was Gabrielle Fitchett for her crowd pleasing saxophone rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing.”
The Perseverance Award was given to Tayler Wolinski. Samantha Skinner won the Friendship Award and Sophie Jansen received the Training award.
Look for Sophie and Alexanderia throughout the year as they represent Castlegar at local public events.