Tanned To Perfection – Hawaiian Tropic Sun Tan Lotion in Motion
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"In these shoes? I don't think so!"
These words from a Kirsty MacColl song came to mind as I watched the contestants pose on stage wearing sexy bikinis and high heels. You are so not going swimming in those outfits...
Hawaiian Tropic, the well-known maker of sun care products, has held regional pageants in Las Vegas for several years, but the 2004 International Finals is an even bigger event. A total of 89 contestants came here from around the world to compete for the title of Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2004. The 21st annual event was held at the Treasure Island Hotel Casino, known as "TI" since its extensive renovation last summer. The event included dancing, singing, costumes, evening gowns, and, of course, bikinis.
"Competition swimsuit" and "swimsuit competition" are two very different things. The former is a sturdy suit that stays in place when its wearer is swimming or diving. The latter involves more, uh, minimalist outfits that look like they might not stay on if their wearers waded into the pool.
Fortunately — for the contestants, anyway — the swimsuit competition involved no swimming. Instead, the ladies paraded on a poolside stage during the preliminaries and on the deck of the pirate ship Song in front of the TI during the finals. The preliminary phase also had the ladies modeling "country costumes" from the places they represented. These ranged from traditional (a European maiden costume, albeit with a sexy garter showing), playful (a modified Canadian Mountie outfit with a miniskirt) to festive (an extravagant Mardi Gras costume with green plumage), to elegant (a satin gown in the colors of a country's flag). The regular eveningwear competition took place during the finals, along with another swimsuit phase.
The pageant included a lot of rehearsals and a few fun events. One contestant told me about the "Survivor Challenge," which involved some actual swimming. It allowed the girls to compete in teams, build friendships, and relieve the stress of the preliminary phase.
During the stress of the finals, the contestants got to have some more fun as they joined several cast members from The Sirens of TI to give a dance performance on the decks of the two ships. They had to be patient during several "takes" of the opening number, as the event was being filmed for television. Later, several contestants gave individual performances: ladies from Australia and Poland performed very athletic dances; the Czech contestant did a creative sleight-of-hand act while dancing, and the contestant from Antigua sang a challenging pop tune.
Hawaiian Tropic owner and founder Ron Rice attended the pageant, and during the finals he presented special awards to winners of the local "Little Miss" and "Little Mister" Hawaiian Tropic competition. The awardees ranged from two to fifteen years of age, and the winners of the international finals (to be held this summer in Laval, Canada) will attend children's charity events and can appear in advertisements for the company's sun care products for kids.
Ron introduced them as "the future of Hawaiian Tropic." He also introduced distinguished friends in the audience and members of his own family. Far from a seamy or "spring break" atmosphere, this pageant had an air of wholesomeness and class, reminiscent of last year's CarnaVe 2003 pageant. We can joke about ditzy "beach babes," but I was impressed by the intelligence and poise of the international contestants with whom I spoke.
The contest was narrowed to 15 semifinalists,
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Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com
About the Author
Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave Your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.