University student, 22-year-old Tiana Smith is the new Miss Portland Festival Queen.
The bubbly and articulate Smith emerged from a field of seven contestants to claim the crown and title following a fiercely contested showcase held at the Titchfield High School in Port Antonio on Saturday, June 28. She will now represent Portland at the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition set for the National Indoor Sports Centre inside the Independence Village at the National Stadium complex on Saturday, August 2.
Smith who is currently pursuing a degree in Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of the West Indies, Mona, lists cultural retention among her special interests, which she deems of critical importance to prevent cultural erosion.
Second place went to 18-year-old student at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts Mikhaila Brown, with Nevrona Campbell a 26-year-old educator taking the third slot. The top five contestants was completed Kennessa Edwards and Sashay Williams. 
Smith not only won the top prize but also took home a two of the evening’s sectional awards – Most Active in the Community and Most Culturally Aware. Brown was named Most Poised, and Williams was adjudged Most Congenial by her fellow contestants. The sectional awards for Most Active on Social Media and Best Performance went to Edwards.
An ambassador for the parish of Portland for the Governor General’s I Believe Initiative, the new queen holds strong to the mantra of this programme – There is nothing wrong with Jamaica that can’t be fixed by what is right about Jamaica. She also describes herself as a nationalist, creative, youth advocate and cultural ambassador.
Thirteen parish queens will compete for the national title in August. The sponsors of the National Festival Queen competition are the Culture, Health Arts, Sport, and Entertainment (CHASE) Fund, Airports Authority of Jamaica, National Housing Trust, HEART NSTA Trust, Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency and Excelsior.