Chris Stedile
Castlegar News
Castlegar ushered in two new members of royalty this past weekend.
The new Miss Castlegar Princess is Tyanna Esovoloff and the queen’s crown now sits upon Tenysha Ross-Van Mierlo’s head.
While not all 15 contestants could take home the coveted crown, all did a wonderful job, wowed the audience, and showed compassion and appreciation for their fellow entrants right to the end.
Tears flowed freely after the announcements on stage regarding the new princess and queen — not of sadness but of pride for their fellow contestants, who they all spent so much time with.
Miss Castlegar isn’t only about coming on stage and showing what you’ve got for the crown. It involves a long, arduous journey of training, discipline and practice, practice, practice.
Over the course of five months, contestants prepare for the pageant and learn various skills that will carry over into their future endeavors.
They spent time with the RCMP learning Internet safety. Audrey Polovnikoff showed the girls what great customer service looks like and how to interact with the public. Other skills taught included dancing and an introduction to taxes and finances.
This training made up 30 of the 100 points towards their final scoring.
The night opened with a dance number from the entrants, followed by their introductions and then the talent section.
The runner-up award for this aspect of the pageant was given to Miss Silver Birch Clinic, Ashley Fitchett, for her crowd-favourite hula-hoop dance routine.
The main talent award was handed out to Ross-Van Mierlo for her awe-inspiring performance of song and music performed on cello.
The following event saw the ladies led out one by one onto the stage by an RCMP member to display their vibrant and elegant evening gowns.
A short intermission was held before several dignitaries and royalty offered words of thanks and encouragement.
MP Alex Atamanenko was present and blown away by the show.
“I’ve never seen such a talented group of young people, nor been surrounded by so much royalty,” he said. “Thank you so much for inviting me. I’d like to congratulate all of you; you’re all winners. I know it’s not easy — the trials and tribulations you go through — you’re an inspiration to everyone.”
Next to take the stage was Castlegar Mayor Lawrence Chernoff. With a front-row seat Chernoff enjoyed the show all the way through, grinning ear-to-ear even as he came out to congratulate the winners.
The mayor said his piece to this year’s Miss Castlegar contenders, then thanked the outgoing royalty, Sophie Jensen and Alexandria D’Onofrio, Miss Castlegar and Castlegar Princess, respectively.
Once the speeches finished, it was time for the award ceremony.
The queen committee training award went to Sime Kang.
Runner-up for the speech award was taken by Adrienne Salmon, with Ross-Van Mierlo winning the main award.
Zoey Chaves took home the perseverance award and Esovoloff was awarded Miss Friendship.
The full list of young women who took part in the pageant: Emilie teBulte, Sime Kang, Zoey Chaves, Jessica Pinard, Ashley Fitchett, Cheyenne Allen-Kettlewell, Tyana Esovoloff, Janessa Connell, Emily Postnikoff, Tenysha Ross-Van Mierlo, Adrienne Salmon, Claire Soukochoff, Darci Moffat,
