At the height of political turmoil in the country, Ugandans have gotten solace in the name of a beauty pageant; The Miss Pearl Beauty pageant. After their search in Jinja and Mbale, Miss Pearl Northern Region was held last week in Gulu. The ceremony, held at Smiling Panda started on a high note. Hordes of people were trickling in from all parts of Northern Uganda. Many had come to support contestants from their districts, while others had heard that Miss Pearl Northern Region would be a ceremony like no other. And indeed, it was.
At about 8:00pm, the contestants made their way to the stage. Clad in their golden Miss Pearl vests, they wowed the crowd with an introductory creative dance routine. After which, the contestants introduced themselves by name and region.
Shortly after that, the MC of the night Acapella officially started the ceremony. The witty MC cracked up the crowd and warmed them up for a night that would be punctuated by exhilarating feats. The contestants were recalled on stage to showcase their creative wears, after which they also showcased their talent. Most of the contestants performances bordered around the famous Lakaraka dance, though one contestant stood out when she evoked ululations by balanced 6 pots on her head.
At about 10:00pm, it was time for Okeng Born Town to step onto stage. Like the Acholi darling that he is, he hopped onto the flamboyant Smiling Panda stage amidst ululations. He performed a number of songs, before the mc introduced the next session. The girls beautifully strutted the runway clad in their evening wear/dinner attires, after which Rachel Ayo was crowned Miss Pearl Northern. She had exuded intelligence and talent yet her delivery on stage had such energy. The talented Sarah Amokach was 2nd runners up while the beautiful Salma Sadat who was the crowd’s favorite was first runners up.
At exactly 11:00pm, musical artiste Ykee Benda stepped onto stage to evoke thunderous ululations from the mammoth crowd that was waiting for him.
He performed songs like Malaika, Budumbu, Farmer, Eva as the crowd sung along in pure ecstasy. He ended the night on a high note, as many walked out of their quenched, after having been part of such an action-packed night.
