A New Queen is Crowned

Photographs by David Goddard

It was a tight race and a great evening at the Westin Resort where the 2023 Miss Universe Cayman Islands was crowned on Saturday night.  Contestant #2 Ileann Powery, from West Bay, emerged as the newest addition to the sisterhood and was crushed crowned the National Queen and will be representing the Cayman Islands at the Miss Universe Pageant in El Salvador in November.

Five beautiful young ladies went up against each other after an amazing journey to the crown throughout the Cayman Islands. Mili Almaguer,  Ileann Powery, Sydonie Barrett, Tracey Campbell,  and Ayana Woolery; all equally gorgeous,  all strong,  all fierce and all deserving of the crown, gave it their all this past Saturday night.  From Orientation and Boot Camp, tp a Soiree, a Sashing and a Motorcade, the culmination of the night added up to Ms Powery emerging as the girl who took the crown as well as Best in Swimwear, Best in Gown, People’s Choice, Social Media Impact and  Crowd Favorite.  It was a tough job for the judges as each of these young ladies, all incredible in their own right, interviewed and performed for the right to be the next Miss Universe Cayman Islands however as tight as the race was,  Ms Powery was the evenings’ standout, with a gleam in her eye that dared someone else to even try to claim that crown.  1st Runner up went to Sydonie Barrett, of George Town, who also claimed the Best Smile award of the evening, with 2nd Runner Up being 18year old Tracey Campbell of Bodden Town,  who claimed the prize of Miss Congeniality and International designer Adrian Alicea Runway Model Award.  Tracey is also invited to walk in his show at New York Fashion Week this month. Contestant #1 Mili Almaguer took home Miss Photogenic, Miss Caymankind and Most Improved, these were awarded at the Preliminary portion of the pageant earlier that morning.

Hosted again by the dynamic duo, former Miss Universe Cayman Islands titleholders,  2018 and 2020 respectively, Caitlin Tyson,  And Mariah Tibbetts kept the crowd entertained and moving smoothly to a very tight schedule. Caitlin was also a producer of the show and responsible for runway training and choreographing the contestants stunning opening number.

Performances by Xosia was an added bonus to a night of excitement and Rico Rolando also performed an original song for the young ladies.

A first for the Cayman Islands also was the opportunity to be live streamed on the Muss Universe youtube page to a viwership of over 40,000 people and thousands of live chat comments. Director Derri Lee and Chairperson Catherine Tyson-Sewell were ecstatic at outcome of the evening and looking forward to the preparations for the rest of the year now that a new queen has been crowned.

Ms Powery will take up her reign from Chloe Powery-Doxey following a tough year to represent the Cayman Islands, not only at home, but also on an international level.  The determination, international appeal along with beauty, poise and intellect and a standout performance is what it will take for Cayman to become a contender on the world stage.  The lights are down,  pageant night is over and one journey ends, however another one now begins.  Congratulations to Ileann and her court and all of the contestants who collectively shone bright like diamonds and who we are proud to call our own.