SXMElections.com

Mature Carnival Queen 2015 Norissa Richards (centre) with runner-up Lisette Carty (right) and second runner-up Micheline Warner. Photos by Fiona Van Kampen.

CARNIVAL VILLAGE--Norissa Richards was crowned the new Mature Carnival Queen in a packed Carnival Village on Monday night. First runner-up was Lisette Carty and Micheline Warner named as second runner-up by judges Grace Bleijden, Ife Badejo, Clara Reyes, Anushka Lopes and head judge Nzinga Lake. Masters of Ceremonies were Chet Euton and Gina Bruni.

The event started with an introductory dance in which the candidates wore red evening wear before stripping off their dresses to reveal tight lycra suits. They were joined in their dance by last year’s Queen Rabess-Richardson'>Anna Rabess Richardson.

 Introductions

Individual introductions then followed, starting off with Micheline Warner, who brought a large crowd with her. She was said to represent elegance, sincerity and maturity, and to promote family unity and self-growth. She is a Rotaract member who dedicated her performance to her mother who suffered from breast cancer.

Number two, Fabiola Brown, a mother of two, praised St. Maarten, its culture and Carnival. She used to be an immigration officer and is now a police officer. She introduced herself as being a “diligent and brave woman of the law,” before telling everyone to make the best of their Carnival and to have a safe and happy Carnival.

Norissa Richards, as number 3, had also brought a large fan base. She is a student at University of St. Maarten and works for the Department of Labour. She dedicates time to giving community service to children in need. She watched her mother suffer from cancer and said it made her realise that she had to mature and be responsible to look after her family.

   Number 4, Lisa Myers-Leonard, a mother of four children and a taxi driver, said maturity did not necessarily come with age, but was linked to wisdom and responsibility. “I’m going to use my artistic gifts to paint a majestic picture,” she stated. She used her introduction to ask all ladies to take a stance against verbal abuse from their partners and said she enjoyed competing much more than the end result.

Lisette Carty, contestant number 5, a former Bikini Queen, Senior Queen and PJD2 Queen with a 10-year-old daughter, said she wanted to instil in her daughter the principles to become a successful woman. She thanked her family and sponsors, and was the only contestant who mentioned the other contestants, with whom she said she was pleased to share the stage.

Contestant number 6, Querida Lovera, showed that big can be beautiful. She focused on the importance of strong women, but also of men in society. “I am a princess, matured into a queen,” she said. She said people needed to stand together to succeed. “We can handle anything. As long as we have more than one, we can make it happen.” Her nervousness showed in the speed with which she talked, but despite this her speech was clear and well received.

Following the introductions, the Mature Queen contestants were taken through the talent, best performance in costume, creative professional wear and evening wear rounds.

Talent

The talent round started with the wrongs of St. Maarten being addressed in a calypso song by Micheline Warner. Despite a shaky start in which her nerves showed, she improved throughout her performance and impressed the crowd with a warm, deep and powerful voice.

Fabiola Brown wowed the crowd with a skit on the history of St. Maarten, which appeared to be forgotten, in the shape of an old lady telling her grandson the history of his country. The young boy playing her grandson in the skit stole the show with a performance of Mr. Jambolay, to which Fabiola danced in true grandmother style.

Norissa Richards performed a monologue called “One Love, what’s Love got to do with it.” She brought the serious subject in a comedic manner that had the crowd in stitches with the repeating line “he love me bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, yes, meneer.” Her performance sealed her position as one of the crowd favourites and ended with the advice not to be afraid and to stand up against domestic violence.

Lisa Myers-Richardson, also dressed as an old lady, performed a monologue about “bringing back we Carnival,” in which she spoke about the difference between Carnival now and the way it used to be. Carnival greats Jocelyn Arndell and Elaine Richardson joined her on the stage and the trio received loud applause.

Lisette Carty showed that she was indeed “Woman Surpreme,” when she performed an African dance against a pre-recorded monologue. She brought out her inner Goddess, as host Chet Euton likened her performance to “something out of Game of Thrones.”

Querida Lovera performed a touching skit about being bullied over her size, and emphasised that all people were equal no matter their size or skin colour, that we all needed each other to shine and you could only shine if you believed in loving yourself.

The Teen and Senior Queen contestants introduced themselves during a break in the programme, followed by an energetic dance performance by Infusion.

Best Costume

This was followed by the ever popular best performance in costume, in which the ladies had been briefed to show both the meanings of Carnival and Womanhood.

The costume round saw Micheline Warner appear in “Wings of Hope,” a white angelic costume with different-coloured ribbons against cancer; Fabiola Brown in a well-received purple and green “Art of Time”; and Norissa Richards in a brightly coloured “Guardian Angel of Carnival” outfit featuring photographs of three Carnival greats and Norissa’s mother as her guardian angel.

Rain Goddess Lisa Myers-Leonard impressed in a multi-coloured outfit that made her resemble a giant butterfly, whilst Lisette Carty was a crowd favourite with “Transparency – a new dawn,” symbolizing the future of St. Maarten. Querida Lovera appeared in a very flattering white costume that made her look like an angel, but was named “diamond.”

Creative Professional Wear

The ladies then entertained in Creative Professional Wear and Lisa Myers-Leonard stood out with her bold choice of an undertaker’s outfit complete with a coffin, mourner and a corpse that came back to life. Also drawing a lot of admiration was Lisette Carty in a Robocop outfit.

Micheline Warner honoured her mother as she became a transformer-like vehicle against breast cancer, with a lady directing traffic, and Fabiola Brown managed to make a forensic suit look sexy. Norissa Richards gave the same effect to an army uniform under which she was wearing a glittery outfit, and Querida Lovera showed off her graffiti skills as a painter.

Evening wear and interview

Another performance by dance group Infusion followed by a break gave the ladies time to prepare for the evening wear and interview round. This last round of the show made all ladies look like true queens.

Micheline Warner, in a stunning white diamond-inspired dress, was asked what she would focus her campaign on if she were to run for office. She replied she would focus on children, as they are the future.

Fabiola Brown, in possibly the favourite dress of the night, divided the crowd with her answer to the question whether she believed sexual orientation was genetic or by choice. Her answer, which she took time to think about, was that she believed sexual orientation was by choice, which brought cheers from about half the crowd. The answer and its reaction reflected the way many people in St. Maarten still view homosexuality.

Crowd favourite Norissa Richards, dressed in a stunning champagne outfit, answered the question “what is the essence of a woman,” by reflecting back on her own experiences and saying she wished to be an ambassador to teach younger women to choose the right path and find for their ambitions.

Lisa Myers-Leonard, dressed in black and diamonds, defended the Miss Universe Contest by stating that women are the leaders, the power and the strength.

Popular Lisette Carty, in a dress of glittery see-through blue best described as royalty, spoke of her communication skills in answer to how she used her strongest professional skills. The RBC worker said that in talking with customers, she was a person who listened and provided answers, earning her cheers from the crowd.

Querida Lovera was the epitome of a big beautiful woman in a mermaid-like blue dress. She said education, respect and being true to yourself were key ingredients in displaying professionalism as a pageant winner. Her answer earned her loud applause.

Last year’s winner Rabess-Richardson'>Anna Rabess-Richardson made her last walk. A video showing highlights of her reign could not be shown due to technical difficulties, but she gave a vivid account of her successes after winning her crown.

All contestants then made one last joint appearance after which the winners were announced.