The Cleland Theatre will be brimming with talent next week as a group of young women work towards their crowning achievement.
Eleven candidates are contending for the title of Queen Valvedette the 64th in the 2011 Miss Penticton Program. The candidates will showcase their talents Thursday night at the Cleland Theatre.
The first event of the competition was recently held at the Lakeside Resort where the candidates completed their introductory speech presentations, the first of five public events, with a focus on recognizing their sponsors. Each girl is sponsored in order to fund their candidate photos, matching ensembles and other accoutrements that the competition requires, such as banners and flowers.
The program, which started in January and runs until the Peach Festival in August, is focused on shaping the girls into well-spoken, confident young women through training, mentoring and public speaking. It also teaches them to be selfless and community-minded through volunteering and interviews that are focused on testing their knowledge of the city.
“I have learned a lot from the program, I have become much more confident and I’m much better at public speaking ... There is tons of support and guidance,” said Anmol Toor, Miss Penticton School of Hair. “For my talent, I will be doing a type of traditional Punjabi dancing called bhangra. It’s a really exciting and energetic dance with upbeat music. For my speech, I’m still deciding, but I think the topic will be on poverty.”
The girls have four more events, which include the talent presentation, fashion show, speech competition and pageant night that spread from late May to early August.
“The program starts and then everything just creeps up. It’s hard to believe talent is only a week away,” said Jo Sommerfeld, a program organizer.
Current royalty, Danielle Chetner, Amanda Bell and Camella Vokey have been keeping busy as well, not only mentoring the candidates, but also visiting local cities for parades (winning for best float every time this year).
Although the program is competitive with most girls striving to win, all of the candidates will come out of the program with essential skills that will help them to succeed in all areas of their lives.
“The program offers excellent training for the candidates such as time management skills, etiquette and public speaking, to name a few,” said Sommerfeld. “These are things that they will be able to use as they continue their high school education, and as they enter post-secondary or the workforce.”
The following is the list of candidates and their sponsors: Nikita Afonso, Miss LocoLanding; Rosalee Bellerose, Miss Eagles Past Presidents 4281; Samantha Cameron, Miss Windward Software; Chelsea Crawford, Miss Quota International of Penticton; Jolene Hayter, Miss Penticton Lakeside Resort; Kate Holowaty, Miss La Casa Ouzeria; Andrea Livolsi, Miss Fire Fighters Local 1399; Celene Lucier, Miss Morpheus Graphics & Printing; Gurlene Phachu, Miss Lions Club; Alannah Taylor, Miss Ironman Canada; and Anmol Toor, Miss Penticton School of Hair.
The talent presentation will be held at 7 p.m. at the Cleland Community Theatre on May 19. Tickets cost $10 and are available at Hartford Cruise and Travel or at the door.