When 17-year-old Tae Zha Maduro donned the crown as the 2023 St. John Festival Queen, she became a three-time winner. Maduro and contestant NQuana Davis entertained a crowd of about 300 spectators in a competition staged at the Festival Village.
Saturday night was dubbed Royalty Pageant 2023. The evening began with the presentation of two queen contestants and a single contestant for the title of princess — De Janique Callwood. All three appeared on stage in the introductory segment.
Then Maduro and Davis, 18, took turns impressing the audience by modeling swimwear and eveningwear, performing while displaying international wear, and taking in controversy in the question-and-answer segments.
A panel of judges took their time tallying up the points allotted for each segment, plus points amassed during pre-competition interviews. In the end, Maduro emerged as the winner. She spoke briefly after receiving her crown and sash while photographers captured the moment, saying winning the title of Festival Queen was a long-sought dream she held since winning the titles of Festival Princess in 2014 and Centennial Princess in 2017.
