Miss Elks Lodge #436, Madison Silvers, takes a walk after being crowned Queen during the 2012 Osoyoos Royalty Pageant held at the Osoyoos Secondary School Mini Theatre on Saturday, June 30. Photo by Mathew White.
After five months of hard work and training, it all came down to one moment. As the clock passed 9 p.m. this past Saturday night, a hushed crowd at the Osoyoos Secondary School Mini Theatre sat in silence as the decision was read.
“And Miss Osoyoos Royalty 2012 is… Miss Elks Lodge #436, Madison Silvers.”
And with that the audience rose to their feet and a thunderous applause filled the auditorium.
“It feels so great to finally get, not what I wanted, but what I hoped for,” said Silvers after being crowned Queen during the 2012 Osoyoos Royalty Pageant.
For the past five months all five of the Osoyoos Royalty candidates have gone through rigorous training in areas such as speech improvement, presentation, talent, modeling, and perhaps most importantly, public speaking.
Silvers said it has been a difficult journey, but the results speak for themselves.
“Five months ago I couldn’t even speak,” said Silvers. “And now it’s such a relief. I can speak in front of crowds and it’s just a great relief.”
In the upcoming year, Silvers, along with her two princesses, will act as representatives for the Town of Osoyoos at a variety of events, something Mayor Stu Wells describes as an important aspect and representation of this community.
“This is great,” he said. “It is neat to see our youth become such a focal point of this community.”
“We really appreciate this for the town and what it means to us. Anytime we can bring the community together, it’s a real positive occasion for everyone.”
The sentiment was echoed by Anne Murseli, co-organizer of the Osoyoos Royalty Program.
“It pleases both Kathy and me that we helped these young ladies understand … we are a community and we stand up whenever possible,” she said.
Moments before Silvers was passed the Queen’s crown in an emotional moment with former Queen Helen Powers, the two new Osoyoos Royalty Princesses were also given their moment to shine.
The first princess to be crowned was none other than Miss Sage Pub, Kaitlin Anderson. And second to be crowned was Miss MacDonald’s Osoyoos, Isa Marion-Stone.
All three of the new royalty representatives were chosen based on scores given to them for their performances in 10 different categories over the past five months, including introductory/sponsor speech, talent, modeling skills, long speech, judge’s dinner/lunch, knowledge exam, committee report, personal interview, evening gown and impromptu question (the last two events were held during the pageant Saturday night).
The remainder of the awards given out Saturday night included:
- People’s Choice – Sarah Singer
- Talent Award – Kaitlin Anderson
- Speech Award – Madison Silvers
- Knowledge Award – Madison Silvers
- A $1,500 scholarship from Sprott Shaw Community College was also awarded to Kuljeet Wander and three bursaries were given to the former royalty girls, with $800 going to former Queen Powers, $600 going to former Princess Kailey Gilbert and $250 going to Queen’s Court Mickayla Badour.
Before the three crowns were passed on, a jam-packed crowd at the OSS Mini Theatre enjoyed a two-hour pageant, which included entertaining numbers, a memorable slideshow, emotional speeches from the former royalty and a welcome visit from more than 30 visiting royalty representatives from all over the province.
