Posted by By Jemi Ekunkunbor on
With statistics 36, 25, 34, 20 year-old Karen Young, last weekend in Warri proved she has all it takes to wear a crown and be called a queen.
With statistics 36, 25, 34, 20 year-old Karen Young, last weekend in Warri proved she has all it takes to wear a crown and be called a queen. The International studies undergraduate of the university of Benin, defeated 12 other contestants to emerge Miss Delta State 2006. The keenly contested pageant took place at the prestigious Wellington Hotel in Effurun near Warri.
The 10th edition of the pageant held in conjunction with the Delta State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was divided into five segment of casual, corporate, traditional, beach wear and evening wear. The excited contestants filed out in their different attires to convince the four man panel of judges that they were the ones fit to be queen. The show opened with the girls clad in t-shirts and jeans dancing to the audience delight. This was closely followed by the traditional outfit segment. The segment was a revelation of the various cultural attires of the Nigerian entity. However, some of the contestants were so creative that their costumes could not be pinned to any geographical location. Coral beads was a common denominator for most of the outfits and it added colour to the various ensembles.
The beach wear segment drew cat calls from the audience and seeing the girls in their beach attires was a deciding factor for most of them. By the time the 13 contestants jostling for the crown filed out in their evening attire, there was no doubt in the minds of many that contestant number 10, Anna Porbeni, must have been introduced as a comic relief to the whole show. Of all the contestants, she was the one who didn't care about her catwalk or poise. Stocky with heavy stride, she endeared herself to the audience and made them laugh to their hearts content making them call for her each time she walked off stage.
At the end of the elimination stage, five girls made it to the top five. They were contestants number 2, Timi Akeme, number 12, Emba Ekene, number 13, Eguobor Anita Oby, number 1, Karen Young and number 6, Oritsegbubemi Dorsu. As the top five contestants filed out on the stage, judges and most of the audience were unanimous in their choice as they gave the crown to light skinned, Karen Young who stood out from other contestants from start to finish. She relegated Oritsegbubemi Dorsu and Emuobosa Faith to the first and second runners up position respectively. Immediate past winner and current Miss Tourism Nigeria, Gloria Zirigbe did the honours of crowning the new queen. She was assisted by Miss Delta 2004, Gbubemi Onuwaje.
The people of Warri according to the organisers were not one to be satisfied with plain pageant. Being lovers of good entertainment, the show was heavily spiced with comedy, dances and music by different budding artists popular in that part of the country.
By her win, the Ogwashi-uku born Karen Young netted in her kitty a sum of N200,000 and a foreign trip to any tourist destination approved by the sponsors. She is also expected to represent the state in other pageants especially the prestigious MBGN hosted by Silver bird Productions. Asked what she plans to spend her reign doing, she says: 'My plan is to embark on an awareness programme on HIV/AIDS".
IN an earlier address, Co ordinators of Miss Delta pageant Mr. Nobert Chiazor and Alex Oyoro commended the Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori and the state commissioner of Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Orezi Esievo for creating a conducive atmosphere for the growth of the tourism industry in the state.