Arliesha Paul Crowned 2025 St. Thomas Carnival Queen After Ambassadorial Pageant Showdown

St. Thomas has a new Ambassadorial Carnival Queen. On Saturday evening, the spotlight was on the Mark C. Marin Center at the Antilles School where two contestants vied for the title of USVI Festivals Ambassadorial Queen. The absence of livestream for the evening's activities was a blow to the hopes of Virgin Islanders in the diaspora, who have made a tradition of tuning in to territorial events during cultural activities. Nevertheless, the two contestants – Arliesha Paul and Rydaina Molyneaux – appeared before their adoring local public to compete in the usual pageant categories including talent, evening wear, swimwear and cultural attire. When the scores were tallied at the end of the evening, Ms. Molyneaux had captured the Viya People's Choice award, and had scooped up sashes for best evening wear, best cultural dress, and Miss Photogenic. Ms. Paul, on the other hand, wowed the judges with a combined dance and saxophone number while her on-stage interview also gave her the edge ov...