April 6, 2008 — Picking up awards Sunday evening for Best Talent, Best Cultural Costume and Best Intellect, it came as no surprise that Kyrelle Thomas — dazzling the audience up to the last minute with her flowing yellow and pink evening gown — also picked up the title of 2008 Carnival Princess.
Still, the decision didn't seem to be an easy one for the judges, who also gave high marks to the three other contestants competing in this year's Princess Selection Show — 10-year-old Yaritza Tirado, sponsored by Diamond's International also won the titles of this year's Miss Congeniality, Miss Photogenic and Best Evening Wear, while nine-year old Zakiyyah Stubbs came in as first-runner up, with a total of 541 points from the judges.
Tirado also tied Thomas in the talent category, raising eyebrows and dropping mouths with a presentation in which she played the flute and bongo drums, and performed salsa and quadrille dances.
The soft-spoken Kayla Heyliger, 7, was also a frequent crowd-pleaser, eliciting loud applause right from the beginning as she made her debut on stage as an East Indian princess, decked out in a red-and-gold costume with matching tiara. Heyliger also made the audience — packed into almost every corner of Lionel Roberts Stadium — laugh in the cultural/historical costume segment of the show, as she danced around dressed as a bottle of V.I. mauby.
"This is the greatest soft-drink in the Virgin Islands, and it's been around for donkey years," an announcer said as Heyliger sashayed over to the judges' section. "It's made of tree bark and it dates back to our African ancestry."
It was Thomas, however, who delivered the biggest surprises. Her cultural costume, a dark green Victorian gown, was meant to pay tribute to the territory's rich French heritage and the colonists who settled on St. Croix in the early 1600's. As an audio presentation over the stadium loudspeaker highlighted the aspects of French culture in the Virgin Islands, Thomas turned around to reveal a model of St. Thomas' French Heritage Museum built into the back of her dress.
Pulling levers attached to the side of her costume, Thomas opened the doors of the museum, and invited residents to visit the actual building in historic Frenchtown, or Carenage.
Dressed in glittering black and yellow, Stubbs also waltzed on stage dressed as the territory's state flower, the yellow cedar, or ginger thomas. Within seconds, she had cast off the outermost layer of feathered petals, and emerged with a glittering gold beak and wings, representing the territory's state bird, the yellow breast.
Stubbs' originality also gained her points in the question-and-answer segment. When asked how she could make her daily life more eco-friendly, Stubbs answered, "I would turn off all the lights and make sure the faucets are turned off correctly, so we could save more money — and then my mother could take me and my little brother shopping more."
While Stubbs' answer spurred loud laughs and cheers from the crowd, it was Thomas who sent the entire stadium wild. When asked what unsung V.I. hero she would honor if she had the chance, Thomas only paused briefly before answering, "Mr. Irvin 'Brownie' Brown — because he has given so much of his time and talent to preserve V.I. culture by hosting Carnival for the last 41 years in his colorful shirts… He is a true hero, and that's a good 'ting."
Due to a lack of applications, the reigning 2007 Carnival Prince, Jahmalikye Richardson, will keep his crown for another year.
Sunday's selection show was just the first of a month's worth of events planned by the V.I. Carnival Committee. Next up is the Carnival Queen Selection Show, which kicks off at Lionel Roberts at 8 p.m. on April 12.
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