Miss Jamaica Festival Queens –where are they now?
THE MISS Jamaica Beauty contest began in 1963 with most of the winners and runners-up going on to compete in international beauty pageants. The contest started the same year as the festival song and school festival arts competitions. The Festival Office (now the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission — JCDC) was also created that year in celebration of independence. The first official Miss Jamaica beauty queen, Carol Crawford, went on to win the Miss World contest later that year in London, England. In its early years controversy surrounded the competition. In 1964, organisers sent the runner-up to compete in the Miss World contest instead of the winner, Mitsy Constantine (later Seaga), who wanted to have her mother act as her chaperone. The issue of colour and favourtism to contestants of lighter hues also plagued the pageant. In the mid 1970s there was a shift as the Festival Office took over the running of the contest and emphasis was placed on cultural awareness, talent and commu
