Ka'u Coffee Mill to host 2013 Miss Ka'u Coffee Pageant

We invite you to come celebrate the Ka‘u Coffee industry with us at our mill’s coffee drying pad on Friday, April 26, as four contestants compete to become the reigning queen of the Ka'u Coffee Festival. As official representatives of the Ka'u Coffee industry, the new queen and her court (three princesses) will attend several of the Ka'u Coffee Festival events over the following week - see kaucoffeefest.com for more on these events.

The contestants for Miss Ka‘u Coffee will be judged in three categories: Gown, Talent and Interview.

Miss Ka‘u Coffee Pageant 2013 will begin 6:30 p.m. at the Ka‘u Coffee Mill on Friday, April 26. (Doors open at 6 p.m.) Advance tickets are $10; buy them from contestants or from pageant chair Gloria Camba at 928-8558.

On April 6, the Ka'u Coffee Growers Cooperative put together a float on a Ka'u Coffee Mill truck decorated with McCall’s flowers, branches of red coffee cherries and other foliage. The four 2013 Miss Ka'u Coffee contestants, Kawailani Houvener, Seneca Lee Oleyte, Rachel Ornelas and Tiare-Lee Shibuya, represented the coffee industry in Ka'u along with Ka'u Coffee Growers Cooperative president and past-president, Gloria Camba and Lorie Obra. Also on the float were pageant artistic director Nalani Parlin and award-winning Ka'u Coffee farmer Willie Tabios. Assisting with the float were Efren Abellera and his daughters, Layla, Elisa and Erica, Bong Aquino and driver Leonardo Castaneda and his wife Jackie.

The Merrie Monarch Parade was the first official outing for the four contestants.

A little more about each contestant:

Kawailani Houvener, of Ocean View, daughter of Michelle and Kenneth Houvener. She is 17 years of age and a senior at Ka'u High School. She plans to sign up for the Army and study mechanics. Her talent will be hula.

Seneca Lee Oleyte, of Pahala, daughter of Ernest and Lenora Lorenzo-Oleyte. She is 22 years of age and attends University of Hawai'i in Hilo and studies communications. She is a graduate of Ka'u High School. Her talent will be singing.

Rachel Ornelas, of Wai`ohinu, daughter of Mia Ornelas and resides with her grandparents Mario and Memmy Ornelas. She is 19 years of age, graduated from Ka'u High School and attends University of Hawai'i at Hilo, studying to be a registered nurse. Her talent will be singing.

Tiare-Lee Shibuya, of Wai'ohinu, daughter of Dane and Terry-Lee Shibuya. She is 19 years of age, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and attends Hawai'i Community College and plans to become a registered nurse. Her talent will be hula.