CELEBRATIONEVENTPAGEANT
There were seven (7) very young and talented Filipino-American girls, ages 5 – 9 years old, who competed this year for the title Little Miss Fil-Am. Each one is equally beautiful, talented , well-poised and articulate but only one girl will take home the crown. But what each and every one has gained is the camaraderie, meaningful experience and personality development that can make a difference of a lifetime!
AWARDING AND CROWNING
The Little Miss Fil-Am candidates at the front row (L-R) are Miss Congeniality and Viewer’s Choice Awardee HAZEL ENGVALL, CHARLENE BUTIAL, 1st Runner-Up and Miss Photogenic ZARI ARIANA WHITAKER, CHARLENE BUTIAL, Little Miss Fil-Am 2011 and also Best Gown & Best Talent awardee JANELLE KIM SERQUINA, 2nd Runner -Up and Miss Popular ARABELLA PAGE SAN JOSE, and ARIANA BALIDO. Together with them at the back row are from left to right, Committee Chair MALOU HAMTO, emcee TONY LIME, Program Coordinator PAT DELA ROSA and emcee & Miss Fil-Am DEJAH URBANOVITCH.
LITTLE MISS FIL-AM 2011 Janelle Kim Serquina won the coveted crown and awarded with $250 cash, sash and trophy. She also won the Best Talent and Best Gown award.
1ST RUNNER UP Zari Ariana Whitaker too home with her $150 cash, sash and trophy. She is also the Miss Photogenic.
2nd RUNNER UP Arabella Paige San Jose was awarded with $100 cash, sash and trophy. She is also the Miss Popular.
SPECIAL AWARD
Miss Congeniality HAZELL ENGVALL was picked by her fellow candidates as the winner. She was given trophy and sash for this award.
Miss Photogenic ZARI ARIANA WHITAKER was awarded with sash and trophy for winning the hearts of the judges with her cute smiles and tantalizing eyes as the best photographed candidate.
JANELLE KIM SERQUINA’s white gown with gold accents earned her the Best Gown award for which she was awarded with sash and trophy.
Best Talent award went to JANELLE KIM SERQUINA for her rendition of “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus, deserving of a trophy and sash.
Most Popular ARABELLA PAIGE SAN JOSE won this award not only with trophy but with 10% of tickets she sold.
Viewer’s Choice Awardee AWARD HAZEL ENGVALL got the most number of votes from audience earning her a trophy and 10% of the value of votes given to her.
PARTICIPATION TROPHY
Participating in this pageant calls for dedication and time for which the candidates’ contributions are recognized by awarding each one of them a participation trophy.
FAREWELL PROMENADE
Mikaela Uychiat Pison looks very cute and lovely as she bid goodbye for her one year meaningful reign as LITTLE MISS FIL-AM 2010.
THE ENTERTAINMENT
The FIL-AM CULTURAL DANCE GROUP provided the entertainment by dancing different Philippine folk dances namely BANGA, UYAOY, BINAYAH, SAKUTING, T’BOLI AND TINIKLING.
Details about these dances can be seen in the CULTURAL DANCE PRESENTATION page.
INTRODUCTION OF CANDIDATES
Nothing could be more entertaining when the seven (7) candidates wowed the audience with their modern dance group presentation choreographed by Miss Jennifer Magbata. After the lively dance presentation, the candidates introduced themselves.
THE CANDIDATES
ARIANNA BALIDO – she is 5 years old and in Kindergarten at Del Rio Elementary School in Oceanside. She enjoys singing and dancing. Her talent is to dance to the tune of ” Somebody to Love ” by Justin Bieber. Proud Parent: Ivana Plasencia
CHARLENE BUTIAL – she is 8 years old and in 3rd grade at Reynolds Elementary School. She is a recipient of Raccoon Award. She enjoys reading books and playing Nintendo DS. Her talent is to dance to the tune of ” So Sexy” by Marian Rivera. Proud Parents : Precy Cabrera and Lucito Butial.
MIA CATAPANG – she is 5 years old and in Kindergarten at Oceanside Adventist Elementary School. She has participated in Run a Thon 2011 and Winter Capital 2010. Her talent is to dance to the tune of ” I Love Candy” by Justin Bieber.
Proud Parents : Norma and Erwin Catapang
HAZEL ANGEL ENGVALL – she is 5 years old and in Pre-School at Quality Children Services . She enjoys singing and dancing. Her talent is to sing a song titled “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry. Proud Parents : Robert and Lisa Engvall
Miss Congeniality
Viewer’s Choice Award
ARABELLA PAIGE SAN JOSE –
she is 4 years old and in Pre-Kindergarten at HeadstartMaac Project. She enjoys playing, story time, singing and dancing. Her talent is to sing a song titled ” How Did You Know?” by Chickie Pineda. Proud Parents : Romeo and Alma San Jose
Second Runner-Up
Miss Popular
JEANELLEKIM B. SERQUINA –
she is 6 years old and in Kindergarten at Temple Heights Elementary School. America’s Model Search winner February of 2010 and Student of the Month award last February. She loves to sing, dance, modeling, biking and play the Wii. Her talent is to sing a song titled ” The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. Proud Parents : Nelson and Delia Serquina
LITTLE MISS FIL-AM 2011
Best Talent awardee
Best Gown winner
ZARI ARIANA WHITAKER – she is 6 years old and in 1st grade at Bobier Elementary in Vista. She was Student of the Month January 2011 and Miss Congeniality in Little Miss Fil-Am 2009. She loves to color and draw, dance, sing, watch Nickelodeon, swim and ride her bike. Her talent is to sing a song titled ” Fireworks” by Katy Perry. Proud Parents: Derrick Domingue and Misty Whitaker
First Runner-Up
Miss Photogenic
TALENT COMPETITION
Who says that these little girls have no talent? They are the future stars in the field of entertainment. Each one had exceptionally showcased what they can do best in this segment.
BEST GOWN COMPETITION AND QUESTION-AND-ANSWER PORTION
Everyone of them has proven that you can be cute and the same time elegant, poised and smart at the same time.
MEET THE JUDGES
Annalou Majul is a previous candidate of two pageants, the Miss Bohol pageant and the Miss Fil-Am pageant. She has garnered 1st runner up for both pageants and subsequently four trophies and a crown. Annalou is currently as a Social Services Assistant at Vista Knoll Specialized Care and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Multimedia from San Diego State University.
Vanessa Okafor is currently the Miss Oceanside 2011. She has won four different pageant titles in the past year. She will be attending the University of California San Diego (UCSD) with a major in Biochemistry, in the fall.
Lupe Rios – He believes in what Thomas Jefferson said “There is plenty of opportunity in our lives, but that most of us miss it because it comes in the form of hard work in overall”. And Mother Teresa said” That perhaps not all of us could do great things, but that we can all do small things with great love”. He tries to live his life by using all the gifts and talents that he’s been given for the service of others. This takes much discipline, which is acquired through consistent practice. He thanks his parents for always expecting him to do so. He was born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico for the early part of his life. His family moved in the USA as a migrant field working family to several places around the States, “depending on where the crop was ripe” as they say now. He is very thankful to have taken advantage of all the opportunity America offers. Two years ago, he graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a degree in International Relations and minors in Religion and Music. From there he worked as Manager for Abercrombie and Fitch, and then Club Monaco of Polo Ralph Lauren. Now he does what he loves most, Music!!! He is currently the Director of Worship at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside CA.
His interests are: music, painting, bullfights, trail running, cooking for friends (and thus, EATING !!!), traveling, and using every day to find inspirational people that helps him have a positive outlook in life, and encourage him to seek his dreams through hard work and in the small acts of great love in our every day life.
Judges are Pam Pehn, Lupe Rios, Princess Elise Cruz and behind is Miss Teen Oceanside 2011 Carlie Callahan.
EMCEES
DEJAH URBANOVITCH
Our Hostesses is Dejah Urbanovitch. She is the current Miss Philipines California Regional title holder, and our very own Miss Fil-Am North San Diego County. Dejah grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from the University of Miami, Florida Cum luade with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History. Today, she lives in San Diego and currently works for Vistage International, helping CEOs make better leaders, decisions and results that drive the economy and employment of our country. Dejah is active within our community as a volunteer and fundraiser for several international non-profit organizations. She loves dancing, painting and spending time with her family. The Oceanside Filipino Cultural Celebration is one of Dejah’s favorite events of the year, and she is honored to emcee the Little Miss/Pre-Teen Fil-Am pageant.
Tony Lime recently joined the FilAm Organization. Although a new member, he has been a faithful supporter of this group. He has organized events for the FilAm in the past. He did this when he was the Director of Events and Choreographer for the Isang Tinig Choir; a group who helped FilAm Organization raise funds for some of their past events. An adept organizer, he helped coordinate the most recent fund raising events for the FilAm such as Halloween Fright Night 2010, Valentine’s Ball & Mother’s Day Delight Celebration.
Tony Lime has a strong background in the hotel and hospitality industry. At only 22, he became General Manager at Best Western International. He has also managed other properties for Holiday Inn and Marriott International.
Tony Lime worked as Flight Attendant for Northwest Airlines and Dance Performer for the Lion King Parade in Disneyworld.
Currently, Tony Lime is working as an Accounting Tax, A/R and Credit Collection Consultant for Active Network and Payroll Specialist for Marriot International.
MEET THE CANDIDATES’ CHOREOGRAPHER
Jennifer Magbata is currently graduating in 8th grade at Jefferson Middle School. She is nominated as Girl Athlete of the Year. She is one of the only two (2) upcoming freshmen who made the Oceanside Dance Team for the year of 2011 – 2012. She had joined the Fil-Am pageants and won the titles of Viewer’s choice Award 2008, 1st Runner-Up in 2009, and 2nd Runner-Up in 2010. At school, she also joined the volleyball team , basketball team, and track and field for two years. Next year, she is hoping to be in the OHS basketball team and be in the dance team at the same time.
PRACTICE AT THE PARK
The candidates for Little Miss & Pre-teen FIL-AM candidates 2011 meet at the Luiseno Park (corner Vandegrift and Douglas Dr) almost every weekend prior to the June 11th pageant to learn to do their group dance, learn how to walk like models and build their self-confidence in the Question-and-Answer portion of the contest. The candidates and the committee put a lot of their time and effort to come up with a very entertaining and excellent program in the June 11th Annual Filipino Cultural Day.
