Feb. 16, 2004 – The six contestants for V.I. Carnival Queen 2004 made their public debut over the weekend in the first of a series of events that will culminate in the Queen Selection Show on April 10 in Lionel Roberts Stadium.
One thing they learned Friday night after strolling into the ballroom at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel to present themselves before the V.I. Carnival Committee was the order in which they will make their onstage appearance in the stadium.
Tiomi Frett, Allelia Gumbs, Je'vonia Grosvenor, Charlene Kilpatrick, Sharon Peltier and Kiese Sam took turns picking from a bouquet of heart-shaped balloons held by the 1992 Carnival Queen, Tashida Kelch. Each balloon contained a number, determining both the order in which the contestants will appear at the show and the order in which they proceeded to make their introductions Friday night.
And the order is:
Contestant No. 1: Kiese Sam, 17, a Charlotte Amalie High School senior, is a cheerleader and a member of the CAHS Gospel Choir.
Contestant No. 2: Je'vonia Grosvenor, 17, also a CAHS senior, volunteers in the school attendance office. "I feel volunteers are like Frosted Flakes — they're great!" she said.
Contestant No. 3: Charlene Kilpatrick, 17, was born in Panama into a military family; she is a major in the CAHS Junior ROTC, the reigning Miss CAHS and a National Honor Society member.
Contestant No. 4: Sharon Peltier, 17, is a student at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School where she is a member of the National Honor Society and the IEKHS Strivers Club.
Contestant No. 5: Allelia Gumbs, 17, a student at CAHS, serves on the school council, is a former member of the cheering squad, and has played basketball, softball and volleyball.
Contestant No 6: Tiomi Frett, 18, a student at CAHS, is also a volunteer at Roy L. Schneider Hospital.
The candidates will be presented to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull at a private reception. They also will appear again before the Carnival Committee for individual interviews which will be scored, with the results to count toward their overall competition tallies.
Anita Arnold, chair of the Carnival Judges Committee, reminded the contestants that they also would receive points for their Friday night presentations and for their interactions at an informal reception in the hotel ballroom following the program.
Kenneth Blake, V.I. Carnival Committee chair, told the audience the committee is in search of a new sponsor for the Queen Selection Show, since the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association, which has sponsored it for a number of years, declined to do so this year.
Mistress of ceremonies Lorraine Gumbs-Morton commended the Queen Committee chair, Lorna Webster, for working with the anonymous donor of the contestants' evening wear for their Friday presentation.
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