Kim Rose: Miss Winelands Pageant 2013

Once I got a email from the main organiser, Rietha Kruger, to say that I have been selected as a finalist for the Miss Winelands 2013, that's when it all started.

We got a list of events and duties that we had to complete before the main event, which was held on the 10th August in Paarl.

The first time we all got together was at the Taal Monument in Paarl, for the meet and greet. We got briefed on what to expect and what we had to do until the Gala event.

Meet and Greet - Paarl Taal Monument - Miss Winelands Finalists

Part of our project was to raise funds and goods for the Bowy Project. I unfortunately wasn't able to visit the kids on Mandela Day but i did collect money and give toys and decor for the Bowy House project.

Our first event held was the High Tea at Rusticana Event and Function venue. All finalists had to sell 10 tickets, which was a table, and had to decorate and prepare the whole table themselves for their guests. It was a successful morning and i enjoyed every moment, even though it was a mad rush serving my guests. My theme for the table was Paris. Each finalist got a country and had to go according a specific country that we had gotten.

There were awards for top 3 best tables, unfortunately i did not get an award. All the finalists got their pink file with all the information needed for the rest of what we needed to do for the final stretch of the Miss Winelands journey. They also gave us a sash which said, Miss Winelands Finalist 2013 and were told to wear the sash wherever we had to go e.g. looking for sponsors or events.

A BIG THANK YOU to Aunty Rosie and Aunty Bernie for helping me out with the High Tea!

Each finalist got a sash at the High Tea.

Next event held was the Fashion Show. This was one of the highlights of the Miss Winelands journey. The fashion show was also held in the Paarl Town Hall, on the 21 June.

The Miss Winelands Finalists modeled 3 outfits.

Outfit 1 - Foschini.

Outfit 2 - Slate Boutique.

Outfit 3 - Ann-Lee Boutique.

The reason why this event was one of the highlights for me, was because all the finalists got to bond and got to know each other better. It also wasn't a normal catwalk fashion show, we got to smile and make it enjoyable not only for ourselves but for the guests as well.

I have to be honest, at this point I was about to give up. I message Rietha and she messaged back and said: "You are a worthy contender and definitely one of the outstanding finalists!"

The day we've all been waiting for, Gala Event, 10 August 2013. What a day that I would never forget. The night before, Friday 9 August, we had the rehearsal at the hall. We practised our dance routine, swimwear and evening wear walk. Luckily it didn't end up being a late night as we had to be back first thing Saturday morning for the Interviews.

I was quiet nervous and didn't know what to expect with the interview but I went in and did it. We had to be back at the hall early afternoon for another run through before we started getting ready for the show, which started at 18:30.

Each category had 3 outfits/3 routines for the show.

Outfit 1 - Casual wear (Tang top and jeans)

Outfit 2 - Swimwear

Outfit 3 - Evening wear (dress to impress)