Urennaya crowned Miss Sittingbourne
27
Mar
Top row Elsie (Jnr Court Reserve), Poppy (Sittingbourne Princess), Urennaya (Miss Sittingbourne), Emily (Deputy Miss Sittingbourne), Sarah Stephen Mayor of Swale, Emily Rose (Sittingbourne Princess), Emilia (Snr Court Reserve) with Daisy (Deputy Jnr Miss Sittingbourne) and Keavie - (Jnr Miss Sittingbourne) at the front
On Sunday afternoon 16-year-old Urennaya was crowned Miss Sittingbourne and will be the first Miss Sittingbourne in five years to take part in a Sittingbourne Carnival to be held in August.
Miss Sittingbourne - Urennaya
The selection process took place at The Appleyard on the Avenue of Remembrance where Urennaya managed to fend off competition from a number of entrants.
Runners up Poppy and Emily Rose became this year’s Sittingbourne Princesses with Emily taking up the role of Deputy Miss Sittingbourne and Emilia acting in reserve.
Junior Miss Sittingbourne - Keavie with her deputy Daisy standing behind
9-year-old Keavie become this year’s Junior Miss Sittingbourne, with 7-year-old Daisy as Deputy Junior Miss Sittingbourne.
Carnival Chairperson, Kelly Kay told us “The selection this year was wonderful, with exceptional candidates and we now have a fantastic new Court of bright and enthusiastic young Ladies.”
“We start straight away next week with two local nursing home visits, and I know they'll be very excited to see the girls.”
As many of you will know, Sittingbourne’s carnival unfortunately came to an end in 2020 due to covid. However, following a hiatus of five long years, it has been brought back to life thanks to the hard work of Kelly and her team.
Carnival Chairperson, Kelly Kay and The Mayor of Swale, Cllr Sarah Stephen
Kelly said, “Work on our 2024 float has begun, it is a huge project, and the return of Sittingbourne Carnival on August 25th is coming on very well, with a huge community response.”
“We have over 40 entries already and welcome anyone else who would like to take part and of course come out and support by spectating and change bucket donating.”
“We are very grateful to the local council and businesses who have supported us, and we work very hard to fund raise the money needed for the Court and Carnival. It's been a wonderful response since we started.”
Sittingbourne Princess - Poppy
I am very happy to see the return of Sittingbourne Carnival, especially after covid, which put an end to several of the town’s events as organisers retired, relocated, or no longer wished to continue.
To that end, I was interested to understand what makes someone want to take on an event like this especially with the commitment of running a carnival court.
Kelly explained “We started it all wanting to provide opportunities to be real Ambassadors of Sittingbourne to our daughters and all the local girls who would like to take part.”
“I am very excited for the year ahead and I hope the community is looking forward to the return of the carnival. It has been a massive take on, but I hope that everyone enjoying taking part and the excitement for those coming to watch will make it all worthwhile!”
“We started with the Court last year in February 2023, taking as much information as we could get from Pam Griggs who previously ran the court and carnival.”
Sittingbourne Princess - Emily Rose
“We then did our first year in 2023 and thoroughly enjoyed over 40 community and fund raising events, as well as touring Kent in the carnival circuit.”
“My daughter Daisy was crowned Jnr Miss Sittingbourne 2023 and with Emily as Miss Sittingbourne, plus our princesses Emilia and Poppy, we had a fantastic first year.”
“I feel that we really achieved our aim of providing opportunities for the young ladies of Sittingbourne that would build their confidence, entail having lots of fun and take part in community work that looks brilliant on CVs.”
“We aim to carry on with that in 2024 with our new Court.”
Miss Sittingbourne - Urennaya and The Mayor of Swale, Cllr Sarah Stephen
You can find out more about the carnival and carnival court here
Andy Hudson
Sittingbourne.Me