Chairman of Carnival Planning and Management Agency, Lyndon Arnold (R) and Kentillia Louis at Tuesday’s press launch
Organisers of St. Lucia’s National Carnival Queen Pageant have reiterated their plan to select this year’s contestants through island wide auditions and not community carnival queen shows as was done in the past.
A press launch on the 2014 carnival queen pageant was held on Tuesday, February 18.
Public Relations Officer of the National Carnival Queen Pageant Committee Kentillia Louis told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) that auditions will be hosted in eight districts around the country from March to April.
According to her, this became necessary after questions were being raised as to whether the right persons were being chosen to compete in each community as different judging criteria was being used.
“What we’ve done is that everyone will be selected using the same criteria. We have a panel of judges who will go around and we have eight districts, using the educational districts as our guide,” she informed.
The first audition is set for March 1 for District One – Babonneau and Gros Islet. The final district will audition on the first Saturday in April.
Deadline for registration is usually a week before auditions; but Friday Feb. 21 has been set as the cutoff date for the first set of auditions. Louis said however, that since this is short notice, competitors are allowed to participate in the absence of requirements such as a police record, and they will be later verified.
“So we redefined it to really make sure that its national and that the persons who are selected really do represent the various communities,” she explained.
Louis expressed confidence in the judges. She noted that re-auditions can be organised if for some reason one particular person was unable to be picked as the best candidate in a certain district.
The National Queen Show Pageant Committee will be handling the auditioning process. The group has a 64-year history of organising the queen show pageant. They will hold this year’s pageant under the theme “From 1950-2014 the National Carnival Queen Pageant Redefined.”
“The CPMA is starting very early to make sure that things are as organized as possible. In the next couple of weeks the entire schedule for carnival and all the activities will be out. The office will be opened,” Louis stated.
To be eligible to audition, individuals must be:
-A citizen of St. Lucia
-Between 18-25 years
-Not married or have never been married
-Not pregnant or have never been pregnant
-Possess a minimum of five CXC passes in grade 1-3 including Mathematics and English
-Be able to perform a talent of high standard (eg. dance, drama, music)
The date of the queen show and other carnival events will be released within the next few weeks.