07/12/2017
Felix Chaudhary
Friday, December 08, 2017
2017 Miss Pacific Islands Pageant contestants (from left) Miss Rapa Nui Tiare Pakarati, Miss Nauru Tansy Angelique Itsimaera and Miss Fiji Hally Qaqa at the Lautoka City Council luncheon yesterday. Picture: REINAL CHAND
THE nine beauties vying for the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant 2017 crown were feted to a special lunch by the Lautoka City Council at Three Hungry Bears restaurant on Vitogo Parade yesterday.
Council CEO Jone Nakauvadra said Lautoka was honoured to host the contestants.
"Lautoka is known as the Sugar City because we have the largest sugar mill in the Pacific," he said.
"Everything about Lautoka is sweet like the sugar that we produce and we hope you all enjoy your time with us."
Earlier this week, the contestants were invited to build and tag two fish houses at Shangri-La's Fijian Resort and Spa on the Coral Coast.
The fish houses were placed in the reef flats to assist fish, octopus and other marine species that call the coral coast home.
Reigning Miss Pacific Islands Anne Dunn said the visit provided an opportunity to impart practical solutions on how the contestants and their communities could use readily available materials like sand, cement and seashells to build fish homes that would help attract fish back into reef flats and lagoons.
The Miss Pacific Islands board of directors comprising representatives from each of the member countries also appointed Hirdesh Prasad from the Miss Fiji Pageant Association as chair for the 2017- 2018 organising committee.
Miss Pacific Islands Pageant 2018 will be held in Tonga.
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=426684