MISS CAPE TOWN PRIDE 2013 CROWNED

The 2013 Cape Town Pride Festival recently crowned Tisharn Vonarmberg (Taswill Constant) as its fairest belle at the annual Miss Cape Town Pride pageant.

The 16 February event at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone kicked off this year’s Pride event calendar with a performance by dance group the RagDollz.

The competition featured media personality Irma G from Heart 104.9FM and well-known drag performer Genevieve Le Coq as the evening’s hosts.

The judges were Leigh-Anne Jansen (eTV news journalist), Johan Jooste (Mr. SA Leather 2013), Alex Alfaro (international fashion photographer) and hair stylist Lucrecia Philander (Motions SA).

The sparkling finalists appeared on stage for swimwear, talent and glamorous evening wear rounds until the top five were chosen. They then competed on the basis of answering some tough questions from the judges.

Miss Hayden took the 2nd Princess title, followed by Manilla Von Teez as 1st Princess, leaving 22-year-old Vonarmberg, a hairstylist and part-time dance teacher from Ocean View, to take the grand title.

She told Mambaonline that she was extremely excited to win.

Vonarmberg said that the Miss Cape Town Pride title “means a lot to me because it means being a gay ambassador and focusing on the rights of gay people”.

“Being able to set an example is a real privelege,” she added.

Vonarmberg explained that through her reign she hoped to convey a message “to the younger generation that it’s okay to be yourself. In this way you can get others to respect and admire you.”

Vonarmberg will feature prominently at Saturday’s Pride Parade and Street Fair.

The parade starts from Prestwich Street (behind Beefcakes / Amsterdam / Crew area) at noon and is followed by the street party in the Pink Village, which will have a R30 entry fee.