Miss Canada hopefuls 'climbing' trees today
ORO-MEDONTE
Posted By NATHAN TAYLOR, SUN MEDIA
Posted 6 months ago
Before the Miss Canada International contestants strut their stuff on the pageant stage, they'll be experiencing a wild, and completely unexpected adventure in Oro-Medonte Township.
The 32 contestants will be at Horseshoe Resort today to take part in treetop trekking, Hummer tours, Segway adventures and Yamaha riding adventures. And they won't know until they arrive.
"We want to see these girls as regular girls out having fun," said pageant producer Sylvia Stark.
The experience will also be "a good indicator for the judges" of the contestants "ability to handle unexpected situations," she added.
"That is Miss Canada's job. She has to be able to adapt to all different types of situations and all different types of people across the country," she said.
The element of surprise is also a bit of a test.
"We don't want them to prepare for anything," Stark said.
It will be a test of their ability to work as a team, too, she said.
In past, contestants have had some interesting experiences in the lead-up to the pageant, but nothing like this.
The uniqueness of the adventure is representative of the pageant itself.
"We're a very different pageant. We're very scholastic -- and charity-oriented. We're not a beauty pageant," she said, adding there's no swimsuit element, either.
Stark founded the Teddy Bears of Hope campaign following the 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Asia. Canadian troops are helping deliver 74,000 teddy bears that were sent to Afghanistan for children there.
A campaign is now underway to send teddy bears to kids in Uganda, Africa.
The Miss Canada International contestants are collecting the bears and money to send.
The contestants will be at the resort from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. The pageant takes place Saturday in Toronto.
