Miss World Canada 2017

Last week KPDI Digital Strategy Agency and I had the opportunity to work with the Miss World Canada pageant in Toronto and what an experience that was. A colleague of mine has been working alongside the pageant for over a decade now. I’d always hear about it and passively judge but not this year… my eyes are completely open to the world of beauty pageantry now!

My foray into the beautiful world of pageants began at Mayfair Clubs (my new favourite place) where the ladies performed three fitness challenges and capped it off with a saltwater selfie in the pool – fun times! To see the official Mayfair coverage on Miss World Canada go here: Mayfair Clubs hosts fitness day in Toronto.

It was an entertaining thrill to see the girls compete as well as made me feel out of shape but motivated to get back at it myself (someday). They pushed the sled to and fro, did chin-ups, and push-ups all before noon.

I personally enjoyed the tropical (very humid) climate of the pool area. It was like a detox in and of itself. Washing, drying, and styling my hair that morning was a waste. I sat on that bench and slated each girl’s name because in the water they can all look the same and we needed to know the right contact deets to send these clips to. When the little things become the big things. I also learned that girls born in more recent generations have weirdly spelled names. One girl’s name was spelled “Terin”. Each new name given befuddled and amazed me more than the last.

We used a HERO 5 GoPro on a magic arm mount underwater to capture five seconds of each girl’s poses which all varied in style and creativity. The addition of the crowns were a great touch.

The contestants worked up an appetite after all that endurance work and were provided a delicious + healthy lunch by the Mayfair Clubs Bistro of wraps and salads…

….and everything was gobbled up, impressively so.

The next day we got our cruise on with Mariposa Cruises and had the pleasure of touring the harbour in The Oriole, a Victorian era steamship replica built in Port Dover, Ontario. It was lovely to be out on the open water on such a hot day. The sizzle video above from Toronto video production company captures the excitement.

We had a dance party and took a lot of photos. My kinda day and scene for sure. This is the winner of the Velago Outdoor Patio Furniture set.

Photo opps everywhere I looked.

These guys were the coolest of course.

Friday brought us to Cabana Pool Bar for the swimsuit and fashion show competition. It was another sweltering day and therefore another much appreciated by the water day for your hero. Not to mention, behind the scenes experience of REBEL night club.

The girls set-up their green room in this gorgeous, Toronto-homage mural-themed room replete with bird cages. The symbolism was not lost on me.

Oh I love that wallpaper so much.

I regretted not bringing a proper bathingsuit. I stuck my legs in the pool once. Got a nice glow on my top though.

That’s Ryan, the handler of the girls. What a job and an all around great guy. He grew up around pageants as his sister competed “back in the day”.

Jen did the girls’ makeup and told us a few insider deets on who would make the top 15 cut and I would not at all believe her about one girl in particular. Jen you were right of course haha.

One of the bonuses of rolling with the Miss World Canada crew is seeing the spectacle the girls create and all of the crowd reactions. It’s a media circus. The winner will go on to compete on the World stage – go Canada!

The balloons are a nice touch and several times you’d think they were loose and floating away. Gosh summer feels like it’s flying by. Sadness.

The fashion show was amazing despite many obnoxious pool urchins requiring rival attention. Overheard many catty people. Don’t worry I didn’t get involved. That’s bottle service culture for ya. Plus self-important millennials. I was like, why are these people all here dont you have to be at the office which is where I would have been if not for this pageant.

The catcalling during the swimsuit show was also my favourite. Plus being a VIP and accessing anywhere I like even when security tried to tell me where to go, no sorry bro this side of the rope is just fine by me.