Cebu City – 21-year-old reigning Ms. Lanao del Norte Zeny Alcantara who represented the province in the prestigious Search for Sinulog Festival Queen was declared as Ms. Bioderm Bloom and Ms. Smart during the pageant night held last January 14, 2011 at the Abellana National School.

Ms. Alcantara is from the coastal town of Maigo, Lanao del Norte and is pursuing her studies at the MSU-Maigo School of Arts and Trade (MSAT).

“I am happy to have received these awards although I fell short of my personal goal”, Alcantara expressed.

Going into pageant night, Ms. Lanao del Norte was one of the strong contenders to bag the coveted Sinulog Queen title.

However, at the end of the night Ms. Steffi Rose Pearson Aberasturi of Lumad Basakanon, Basak, Cebu City was crowned as this year’s Festival Queen.

“Winning is not our main goal, promoting Lanao del Norte is”, emphasized Provincial Information Officer Lyndon Calica.

In the preliminary events, Ms. Alcantara enjoyed immense local support from the adoring crowds despite being an out-of-town candidate.

“It was really overwhelming to get that kind of support from the Cebuanos. I will never forget this experience”, Alcantara added.

The top winners in the competition were Jey Ann Avenido of Tribu Kandaya, Daan Bantayan, Cebu City(1st Runner-Up), Barbette Joanne Badocdoc of Pintados Festival, Leyte (2nd Runner-Up), Phoebe Corinne Pataytay representing Lahug Elementary School, Cebu City (3rd Runner-Up), and Denice Marie Caminade of Talamban Elementary School, Cebu City (4th Runner-Up).

For the third year in a row, the Lanao del Norte contingent dubbed as “The Land of Beauty and Bounty” will again be competing in the Street Dancing contest and in the Free Interpretation category during the grand showdown on January 16, 2011.  VNL/PIO-LDN