K'amba Carnival: Prince and princess contest will continue

After a very successful return last year to K'amba Carnival, the crowning of a prince and princess will take place once again this year.

And Jamie Heron, the co-ordinator of the competition, said it is here to stay.

"The prince and princess titles are definitely here to stay," she said. "As long as I have something to do with K'amba Carnival there will be a prince and a princess."

The crowning of a prince and a princess will take place on March 5 at the opening ceremonies of the carnival at the same time the K'amba Carnival queen is crowned.

There are six candidates for princess – Aribella Seright, Averly Guild, Autumn Rose Nicholls, Lillie Dumas, Mayla Buckley and Miley Fabian.

And there are three contestants for prince – Bentley Gaede, Elijah Norn and Paul Karter.

Heron said she is very pleased with the number of contestants.

Prior to 2019, the last time a prince and princess were crowned was 2014.

Like the crowning of the carnival queen, the prince and princess are decided by the number of tickets sold in a raffle.

"Last year, my prince and princess raffle was a sold-out raffle," said Heron. "Last year, we had a separate raffle. The queen sold one raffle and the prince and princess sold for their own."

However, the raffles have now been combined into one.

"This year, the K'amba Carnival raffle is a 10,000-ticket raffle and the prize amounts have been raised," said Heron.

The top prize will be $5,000, plus there will be a second prize of $3,000 and a third prize of $2,000.

"It's one of our top fundraisers for the carnival," Heron said of the raffle. "And like every year I have these young people that come out and they do an extraordinary job raising funds for the carnival. Honestly, we would not be able to do it if it wasn't for these kids and their parents."

The prince and princess competitions are for boys and girls aged three to six years.

"The winners from last year they definitely left huge shoes to fill this year," said Heron of the prince and princess, along with the queen. "Last year I was able to make our winners the heart of the carnival. That really is my goal again this year to make the winners the heart of the carnival."

The prince, princess and queen were out at many events, she noted. "I even had the prince and princess jigging at the adult talent show last year and really showcased these young people."

Something new this year will be the K'amba Carnival prince will be presented with a traditional vest.

"And that will be handed down from year to year," said Heron.

Last year's princess was Riley Thomas-Comeau, while the prince was Kian Larkin-Gauthier.