Glitz and glamour on show at the Miss Ballito competition
From its inception in 2011 the Miss Ballito pageant has raised more than R600 000 for various charities.
Ten finalists competed for the Miss Ballito crown last Friday evening, in a hotly contested pageant hosted at Simbithi Eco-Estate.
Juliana Huisamen (18) was crowned the eventual winner with first and second princess’ titles being awarded to Paige Johnstone (21) and Kristen Stegen (22) respectively.
The title was previously held by Milan Dhaniram who said the competition was a once-in-a-lifetime learning and life-changing opportunity.
The panel of judges were made up of Cheryl Peters, Tash Barnard, Julie Cloete, Rose Stephenson and Zakhele Khumala.
In its nineth year the contest is not only a beauty pageant but also a promoter of community support and offers young women a platform from which thery are able to truly give back.
Miss Ballito is a Rotary Zimbali event and all funds raised go to Rotary approved charities, including The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund and from its inception in 2011 the pageant has allocated more than R600 000 to various charities.
The evening was a glamourous affair as past contestant Erin Dickson hosted the event and introduced the ten finalists as they modelled swimwear and evening gowns and responded to two questions before the judges made their final decision. .
Madison Yuille was awarded for receiving the most Instagram likes and followers, Kristen Stegen won the most Facebook likes and followers as well as the most funds raised while Paige Johnstone was honoured for the best community project.
Newly-crowned Juliana Huisamen was named Miss Diligence for her hard work and Jamie-Lee Kallman won the coveted Miss Congeniality title by her fellow competitors.
As part of the competition each finalist had to raise R7 000 in sponsorship for charity.
As the grand prize for winning the Miss Ballito, Juliana walked away with a prize package totaling R20 000 including a weekend away.
Juliana, who is currently in her matric year, will be working closely with the Rotary Club Zimbali and as an ambassador for Ballito, she will continue to be involved with raising funds for local charities.
Event co-ordinator Heidie Smith expressed her heartfelt thanks to everyone who came together to make the pageant a success.
Watch: The Crowning
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