Royalty hopefuls show off fashion sense
It was another big night for the eight hopefuls in this year’s Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede Royalty contest.
Friday’s fashion show saw the women dressing up in a number of different outfits and walking around a stage to show off their look to the panel of judges.
“This is a really great time in the contest for the girls’ personalities to come through,” said former contest chairperson Donna Kirchner. “The contestants get to choose a number of the outfits they wear during the night, and this is a really great way for the girls to show the judges their fun side.”
The eight contestants are being judged all through the week during various competitions, all replicating real-life scenarios the girls would face if they were to be named Stampede Queen or Princess. During the fashion show, Kirchner says judges will be looking at the girls’ confidence to see how the girls handle themselves on stage. “The judges are really looking for confidence, poise, creativity,” she said. “The judges want to see bright, beaming smiles, the girls interacting with the crowd and just having a very good time out there.” This year’s queen will be the ninth Kirchner has seen crowned, and she says the bigger group of contestants does not necessarily make it any harder or easier on the judges.
“I think having more girls is a bit more logistically challenging for the organizers and maybe the audience,” she said. “As far as the contestants go, I think this speaks to the program we have here, and just the quality of that program. We hope girls locally continue to take an interest into this.”
The final event is Saturday when the Queen will be crowned at 9:30 p.m.