Stage set for Miss Millennium pageant

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Thursday February 11, 2010 00:00

The pageant will be held on Valentine's Day this Sunday at the Millennium Jazz Restaurant in Mogoditshane.  Coordinator Zenzele Hirschfield says preparations for the event, which has attracted 12 contestants, have reached an advanced stage.

'Rehearsals are ongoing.  We have also acquired sponsorships from local companies for the event,' said the coordinator.   Hirschfield said there is going to be some improvements on last year's event.  'There would be a lot of differences from last year's pageant because  we want to have a bigger and better event every year.'

Even the set up, she said, would be arranged in Valentine colours - red, white and black.  Hirschfield said they also want the pageant to look like a corporate affair.  She explained that the Miss Valentine's Day pageant is not only a concept about fun but also about community service.

Just like the previous winner, Hirshfield said this year's queen is going to be engaged in charity projects. 

Entrance fee for the show is P30.  For dinner, the charges are P80 and P150 for couples. 

The pageant was initiated in 2008 after suggestions by jazz enthusiasts who were sipping wine at the Millennium.

The first pageant was just a light event.  In fact it was more about having fun and not making any profits.  It was the first show of its kind in Botswana restricted to women aged 40 and above. There are no hard and fast rules about this competition.  Even the dress code does not apply.  The only requirement is that the competitor must be a jazz follower. 

Felicity Bogatsu won the first pageant. 

Last year saw some new features added to the programme, prompting the organisers to rope in music promoter, Hirschfield, to assist with coordinating the event. Podiso Letsholo, who had tried her luck in the previous event, emerged the winner.  And judging from her stunning looks, Letsholo will be hard to dethrone by other aspiring beauty queens.

Letsholo said it was a 'delightful experience' to be a Miss Valentine.  She said the highlight of her reign was working on charity projects in Mogoditshane.  Letsholo raised funds to buy food hampers and clothing for the needy.  Millennium patrons also donated some clothes and contributed money toward the project.  Letsholo said, if defeated, she is going to support the incoming Miss Millennium in every way possible.

Besides, the Miss Millennium pageant, the Millennium jazz joint has become renowned for hosting jazz shows.  On New Year's Eve the club hosted the Ladies of Jazz - Punah Gabasiane, Kearoma Rantao, Nono Siile and Nnunu Ramagotsi.  Other local artistes who have staged shows at the joint include Lister Boleseng, Socca Moruakgomo, Bra Malombo Mmereki, and Banjo Mosele.