Houston, Texas (March 11, 2017) – Houston Caribbean Queen, Zoe Cadore, was crowned Miss Caribbean United States 2017 at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center for the 10th Anniversary of the competition. The evening featured a lively celebration of Caribbean culture. Zoe was a favorite among the Judges throughout the 2-day competition winning the award for Best Interview. For the talent portion of the competition, Zoe performed a contemporary ballet dance that featured a hand-sewn flag of all the Caribbean countries to “Home” from the American Broadway Show, The Wiz. She is of Grenadian and Guyanese heritage and she represented Guyana in the 2016 Houston Caribbean Queen Preliminary Pageant where she won Best Interview, Talent and Question and Answer.

Zoe is a licensed attorney and a graduate of Spelman College and the University of Houston Law Center. She is currently a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellow on Capitol Hill where she focuses on Energy and Environmental Policy. Zoe’s acceptance of the highly-coveted crown is just the beginning of a journey that will take her to every corner of the nation and around the world during her year of service as Miss Caribbean United States. She will embark on her national speaking tour about her platform, CARIH: Caribbean Americans Reinvesting in their Homelands and represent the United States in the Jaycees International Queen Show in Antigua and Barbuda. Zoe will also participate in events across the country promoting the culture and beauty of the Caribbean and South America.

Zoe Cadore is the first Houstonian to compete and win the title of Miss Caribbean United Sates. Her stellar performance in national pageant was bolstered by her participation in the Houston Caribbean Queen Pageant; which is the only Texas pageant to focus solely on increasing the representation of women of Caribbean and Latin American descent in national pageantry.

The Houston Caribbean Queen Pageant is currently accepting applications from young ladies aged 6-35 who are interested in joining pageantry; no prior experience required. For more information please visit: www.houstoncaribbeanqueen.com/apply

About The Houston Caribbean Queen Pageant Organization:

The Houston Caribbean Queen (HCQ) Pageant is a cultural, educational, and festive event that seeks to celebrate the talent and intellectual abilities of young Caribbean and Latin American women. The HCQ is a distinguished public affair held in Houston, which showcases the feminine charisma, poise, congeniality, and positivity of its contestants. Our pageant presents a potentially life-changing opportunity to aspiring young Caribbean and Latin American women in Southeast Texas. The Houston Caribbean Queen Pageant provides a network for young women with a shared cultural background and seeks to reassure them that what makes them different is exactly what makes them special. The program revolves around the opportunity for personal enhancement through empowerment workshops which include: cooking lessons, makeup classes, etiquette lessons, public speaking sessions, health/fitness and financial acuity. The multiple workshops and events tackle issues that plague many foreign born/raised women. After completion our program participants are more confident, familiar with foreign experiences and equipped with the tools to boldly navigate their lives. In its short three year history, the program has mentored 20 young women, aged 6-24, who have blossomed under its advisement. We have offered over $6,000 in educational scholarships to participants to help them achieve their academic goals.