Denise Reid, STAR Writer
western bureau

From the moment Samantha Lowe stepped on stage in her broad brimmed straw hat, and lay on her beach towel drinking bottled water and applying sun tan lotion to her legs, she captured the audience at the Knutsford Car Park, Montego Bay.

The occasion was Miss Free Zone 2008, an annual pageant, which sees contestants from myriad businesses in Montego Freeport competing for the crown. This year, there were 10 contestants.

While they all presented themselves well, Samantha captured the audience's attention from the moment she introduced herself and by the time she did her creative and hilarious talent piece, she had become a favourite.

likkle but tallawah

It is clear that the ladies put a lot of work into their talent pieces as most of them were original pieces that focused on issues such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic; the brutal murders of children and women; and the crime and violence plaguing the country.

The top five contestants were chosen, and after a question and answer segment, it was time to choose the winners.

Easily meeting the crowd's expectations, Nickeisha Grant of Media Track Limited, was chosen as the second runner up. Petrona Foster of National Asset Recovery Services (NARS), who had earlier described herself as being "likkle but tallawah" proved her mettle, as she was named first runner up and much to the audience's delight, NARS' Samantha Lowe was chosen as this year's Free Zone Queen.

"I feel as if all the hard work paid off," said Samantha who pointed out that she put a lot of work into preparing for the pageant.

She also revealed that she had lost eight pounds to be in shape for the contest.

"I am thanking God", she continued, "Because without him, I don't think I could've done this."

Deejays Chrome, Fame FM's Arif Cooper and the Scientist, provided blazing musical selections that built the vibes for special guest artiste Busy Signal.

When Busy stepped out, the ladies flocked to the front of the stage. They would be his instructors for the morning, as they shouted to him what songs he should sing, dried his face when he was sweating, sang and deejayed with him.

serenading

He had the audience eating out of his hands after he went through his long list of hits such as Loaded, Cool Baby, Done With The War, Step Out, Tic Tac, Hey Girl, Jail, Pon Di Edge and others. Hits such as Unknown Number had the whole audience singing along and he took time out to show the ladies some love by serenading them with High Grade.

Busy spoke out against the child molesters and those committing crimes against children, voicing strong disdain at their actions.

If the crowd and especially the ladies standing at the front of the stage had it their way, he would have been there until the sun came up. But after singing These Are The Days, he made his exit, bringing a great night to an end.