The Sunday News
Sithatshisiwe Gwaza, Sunday News Reporter
THE Miss Zimbabwe Grand Trust which owns the licence for Miss Petite and Miss Heritage last week held the two pageants simultaneously.
Miss Zimbabwe Grand is now the most anticipated national pageant after Miss Zimbabwe. The two competitions were held in Harare last week with all contestants going onto the ramp at the same time with individual winners announced at the end.
The president of the organisation, Faraie Zembeni, said the aim for Miss Grand was to accommodate models without height, who do not meet the conventional standards of the “modeling height” hence the word petite. It also includes plus size models.
The Miss Heritage is meant to promote culture, traditions and national unity. For both competitions, the boot camp carried 70%, whilst the ramp walks contributed 30% to the overall mark.
“During boot camp that is when characters are revealed and we see who one really is, from their interactions and daily activities a worthy Queen is chosen,” said Zembeni.
Holding Miss Petite and Miss Heritage simultaneously proved that there is more to beauty than just the physical attributes. Last weekend’s show crowned eight winners, the queen and two runner ups of Miss Petite and winners for Miss heritage, Miss Personality and Miss talent overall.
Divine Hlatshwayo from Bulawayo was third runner up in the Miss Grand Petite segment. She expressed great appreciation of the experiences gained from the competition. Former Bulawayo Models Association president Khayelihle Pardon Khanye, the show was well organised.
