Courtesy photo
DarAsia Williams was crowned as winner of the Juneteenth pageant on Saturday. Standing with her is one of the other contestants Chrishaud McLeod.
DarAsia Williams is crowned the Juneteenth Pageant winner
LAURINBURG — The Scotland Youth Development and Scotland NAACP Youth Council teamed up to sponsor multiple events celebrating Juneteenth over the weekend.
The first of the two was the 2021 Mr./Ms. Juneteenth Pageant Awards Banquet.
“We had three participants this year,” said SYD Board Member Rena McNeil. “They were Mr. Chrishaud McLeod, who is a rising freshman attending NC State University. He spoke on his engineering design. Mr. Zemarie Williams is a rising senior at Scotland High School. He played the trumpet. Ms. DarAsia Williams, a rising high school senior sang, ‘Did You Know You Were My Hero?”
After all was said and done, Williams was crowned as the winner of the pageant.
“After the ceremony, we enjoyed a meal and allowed the audience to engage in meaningful conversations with the students,” said McNeil. “We had about 50 individuals in attendance.”
On Saturday, the festivities continued with the local Juneteenth Celebration at Market Park on Produce Market Road.
“Our partners with the Scotland County Department of Health were on site also and I would like to thank them for being there,” said McNeil. “We were blessed to be entertained with Jazz music from Scotland High School senior ZeMarie Williams.”
Johna Speller was also a guest speaker during the celebrations.
“Johna is a rising 11th-grader attending school at NC School of Math and Science in the fall,” said McNeil. “We received our closing words from Ms. DarAsia Williams, our 2021 Ms. Juneteenth. I would like to thank all of our sponsors and everyone who helped make this event a success.”
Those in attendance were also provided fish sandwiches and drinks.
JJ Melton can be reached at jmelton@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.