Shiny new pearls

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KNYSNA NEWS - For the first time in 13 years, the Miss Pearl beauty pageant will be dazzling Knysna residents when models from across the Garden Route take to the catwalk this week.

It will be only the fourth Miss Pearl ever held with the first three taking place in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Its return to the local pageantry scene will be welcome, as it will not only be a beauty pageant but also a fashion show that showcases works from local fashion designers and artists.

As part of the Knysna Oyster Festival, Miss Pearl 2022 is all set to be held tomorrow, Friday 1 July, at the Woodmill Walk Shopping Centre where event organisers Ace Models Knysna and Sedgefield are based.

PHOTO GALLERY: Miss Pearl welcomed back

There will be 40 Garden Route models, the bulk of whom are local, taking part in either the fashion show or the beauty pageant.

Models will be divided into four different categories based on age - 0 to 6, 7 to 12, 13 to 17, and 18+ - and three sashes will be handed out per category as prizes. There will also be an additional 13th sash for the 'Marketing Queen' who has done the best promotional work for the pageant.

The models will sport two different outfits to impress the judges, one casual and one formal.

In the second Miss Pearl held in 2008, Sedgefield native and former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (now Tebow)was crowned a winner in one of the age categories. She won the 11-14 category at the age of 13 as Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, nine years before she was crowned Miss South Africa and ultimately Miss Universe.

Demi-Leigh Tebow smiling proud with her Miss Universe crown. Photo: The Miss Universe Organisation