Miss Portland Christina Williams, attorney-at-law and the self-described \u201ccountry girl with global impact\u201d raised the bar high on Saturday night when she waltzed away with the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2026 title, in front of family, friends and well-wishers at Independence Village in Kingston. It was the perfect Emancipation Day gift for Portland, a parish which last won the Festival Queen title 27 years ago.<\/p>\n
For Williams, who won all of four sectional prizes \u2013 Most Culturally Aware, Most Active in the Community, Most Poised, and Best in Gown \u2013 the moment was \u201csurreal\u201d. In an interview with The Gleaner, she shared that, last year, she attended the finals and it was then that the idea to enter started to germinate. Williams\u2019 friend suggested there and then that she should enter and win the title for Portland in 2026, following Gregor Fung\u2019s win in 1999. That same friend was inside the venue on Saturday and was her loudest supporter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very, very grateful to be taking the title home to family, community and country,\u201d said the 28-year-old development advisor and head of information privacy and protection at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. \u201cDuring the competition, I told myself that what I can do is focus on my own race \u2026 my own journey \u2026 and whatever the judges decide, they will decide,\u201d <\/p>\n
Although there were obvious favourites in the competition, judging from the army of supporters that some of the queens had inside the National Indoor Sports Centre, a smiling Williams pointed out calmly that \u201cthere was no sure win for anyone \u2026 we all had to work very hard to be here tonight\u201d. She noted, however, that support from the community is vital.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a very present committee, and messages of encouragement did filter through to me from Portland\u2019s last winner, Gregor Fung. And … I also want to put on record Mrs Thaxter, who was really very supportive of my journey. I felt the entire Portland\u2019s energy on stage. I brought them all on stage with me tonight,\u201d shared Williams.<\/p>\n
Among those who were literally on stage with her were her father, grandmother, stepmother, and her sister. <\/p>\n
Her father, Conroy Williams, could not contain his joy, and neither could her grandmother, Carmen McPherson, who has been nurturing Christina since she was one year and three months old. McPherson didn\u2019t talk much, but she had the tightest, love-filled hugs for all who congratulated her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always mek sure that dem go to school \u2026 primary school and then Titchfield and on to university,\u201d McPherson, who is Williams paternal grandmother told The Gleaner.<\/p>\n
Christina\u2019s father was unable to wipe the smile from his face. \u201cI am so happy \u2026 I am so joyful,\u201d he told The Gleaner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she told me she was going to enter, I encouraged her. I said, \u2018Go ahead because I know yuh can do it.\u2019 I didn\u2019t get to go to the parish finals, but I had to be here tonight. We prayed before we leave Portland, and, when we reach, we pray again. And then we just sit and relax, waiting on the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that he \u201cdidn\u2019t get to carry all of Portland with [him] \u2026 just around 10 of us in all\u201d but gave thanks for the support from the audience which erupted in spontaneous cheers when Christina was announced as winner and she walked on stage to claim the crown for Portland.<\/p>\n
Christina, who in 2024 was honoured with the Princess Diana Legacy Award, the highest honour a young person can get in the world for social impact work, compared that moment to the present.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was brought to England and was conferred with it by Prince William. I was able to work with Prince William \u2026 and Prince Harry as well, through his foundation and it\u2019s really been a great opportunity to represent Jamaica at that stage. And, yuh know what dem seh about dance a yard before yuh dance abroad? Well, I\u2019m happy that I get to dance a yaad now with this national title,\u201d the 2026 Miss Jamaica Festival Queen told The Gleaner.<\/p>\n
Claiming the first runner-up crown on Saturday night was Miss Manchester, Dr. Melissa Flinch, who radiated pure joy when she received her crown and sash. Finch won sectional prizes for Most Congenial and Best Performance. Third-place winner, representing the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, was Danielle Cox, who won the sectional prize for Most Popular on Social Media.<\/p>\n
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Juliet Holness, as well as sponsors and ministry representatives handed out the night\u2019s awards.<\/p>\n
Organised by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, the evening progressed smoothly, with high calibre entertainment from the queens who showcased their talents. <\/p>\n
The Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition started in 1963 as the Miss Jamaica Beauty Contest. However, the need for a greater emphasis on cultural awareness led to a shift in focus in 1975. The competition is the premier forum for young ladies seeking a platform for their contribution to nation-building. It is one of the highlights of the Emancipation and Independence celebrations.<\/p>\n
Several Miss Jamaica Festival Queens have gone on to higher heights as cultural ambassadors and nation-builders in their respective career fields, including Dahlia Harris, who was the emcee at Saturday\u2019s coronation.<\/p>\n
The judging panel included W. Billy Heaven, Ali McNab, Velonique Bowen, George Davis and Joan Andrea Hutchinson. <\/p>\n
Serenading the queens and also giving a short performance, albeit interspersed with too much talking, was Singing Melody.<\/p>\n
yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miss Portland Christina Williams, attorney-at-law and the self-described \u201ccountry girl with global impact\u201d raised the bar high on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312244,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-312243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312243\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}