52nd Miss Maui Filipina Scholarship Pageant

By Kristin Hashimoto

Flag of the Philippines

Culture, history and beauty will be onstage at the 52^nd Annual Miss Maui Filipina Pageant held on June 11, at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa. Maui’s longest running pageant competition began as a popularity contest in 1959, and has grown from a simple fundraising effort for scholarships, to a goodwill ambassador type position.

The title is completed with a bulked up benefits package that includes: scholarship, travel to the Philippines, travel stipend, entry and participation in the Miss Hawaii Filipina Pageant in July, and of course, bragging rights. Dibea Lapid is the current reigning Miss Maui Filipina.

The handful of contestants will be scored on a pre-interview question and answer session, swimsuit and talent competition, speech, and onstage question and answer period. The competition qualifications are different from the qualifiers of the Miss Hawaii and Miss America pageants.

Generally girls should be youthful, fit, legal citizens, etc. The qualifications for the Miss Filipina Pageant included a clause barring females who have had abortions. Another also states that no applicant can be denied participation in this pageant due to religious and/or political viewpoints. Yet, it does seem as if the predominant religious faith of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines has influenced the rules for participation in this event.

Tickets are $25 per person. For ticket information and event details, visit http://missmauifilipina.webs.com.