Senior Carnival Queen 2019 Kentonea Fortin.
- EUSTATIUS--Kentonea Fortin was crowned the 2019 Senior Carnival Queen on Monday evening.
Fortin previously represented St. Eustatius in the Miss International 2019 University Scholarship Pageant in April 2019 in Florida, United States, where she ended first runner-up.
Fortin was escorted on stage at Carnival City by her male family member Layo Woodley. She spoke briefly during the crowning ceremony and promised to serve her island to the best of her ability. She said she was “proud” that this honour has been bestowed upon her.
Outgoing Senior Carnival Queen Chande Eboni Rivers took her final walk and gave a touching speech on what it meant to her to have been Carnival Queen for the past three years. Rivers’ reign had continued until Monday because there has not been a Senior Carnival Queen Pageant in Statia for the past years,.
She said she was “happy” to have been able to serve her island in this capacity. She thanked her mother and said she could not have done it without her. With the passing of the baton, Rivers said she is moving on to other pursuits.
Rivers crowned and bestowed the 2019 sash on Fortin, who then took her first walk as queen on stage.
This is the second time a Senior Carnival Queen has been chosen without a pageant having taken place. The first time was in 1985 when Rachel Tokaai-Redan was crowned by Francisca Pers.
