FT. LAUDERDALE – The Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant, a premier cultural event in the South Florida community for 19 years, will set out to crown the best in culture, poise, and elegance on Saturday, June 28, 2008 at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive in Coral Springs.
Twenty-four young women, ages 5-21 will vie for four titles – Little Miss, Junior Miss, Miss Teen, and Miss Jamaica Florida.
Contestants will also compete for a prize-winning trip to Jamaica. The four-day schedule includes meeting with public and private sector dignitaries, visits to tourist attractions, national landmarks and projects adopted by the ambassadors, the Bustamante Hospital for Children and the National Children’s Home in Kingston. The winning ambassadors, as they are called, will also receive cash awards of $500 each along with other consolation prizes.
The Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant is open to all Jamaican born young women or those of Jamaican parentage. The concept is to reward the young women in South Florida for their cultural awareness, creative talent, poise, and outstanding achievements. The annual event is described as an opportunity to showcase positive examples of progressive young women in our society.
This year’s the theme is Rhythms of the Caribbean – Divided by Water, United By Choice – and through creative talent, each contestant will illustrate through song, dance or drama, that though each country in the Caribbean boasts uniquely distinctive characteristics, all can come together harmoniously as a united community.
This annual event is a fundraiser for The Partners for Youth Foundation, a charitable, non-profit organization committed to the enhancement of children internationally and recognition of young women in the performing arts in the United States. Each year, a monetary scholarship is offered to an African-American college student majoring in theater or music at a tertiary institution. The 2008 scholarship recipient will be announced at this year’s pageant.
The Partners for Youth Foundation and The Miss Jamaica Florida are supported by local and national corporate partners serving the community including Air Jamaica Limited, Western Union, National Weekly, Dolphin’s Cove in Ocho Rios and Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
