Ang Kalatas Volume IV July 2014 Issue | Page 6

06 WHAT’S ON THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 4 Number 10 | July 2014 COOKIES head Last call for pageant candidates CANDIDATES are being invited to vie for this year’s Miss Philippines-Australia and Charity Queen Australia under the auspices of the Philippine Australian Sports & Culture, Inc. Your calendar to events, fun and leisure around the state lA preliminary screening is conducted for all aspirants to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements. The submission of applications closes on July 15. This annual beauty pageant, now in its 26th year, underscores beauty for a cause through an advocacy that supports various community organisations and charitable institutions in the Philippines and Australia. A Presentation Night will be held on August 9 to introduce the candidates to the public. The current Pageant Director is Leah Prieto McCarthy who won the Miss Philippines-Australia title in 1990. Her pageant committee consists of the following members; 2013 candidate Darlene Macabulos, 2013 candidate Mary Ubay, 2012 Miss PhilippinesAustralia Joanna Cubelo, 2012 Charity Queen Australia Jaclyn Alexander, 2010 candidate Honey Scowen and Joseph Magno as Business Manager. The new pageant committee aims to use their collective experience to manage and co-ordinate a memorable 2014 pageant that will combine pageant traditions with modern day pageant enhancements that will enable the candidates to reach their full potential. Some of the past winners have gained prominence in the international scene such as Maria Rafael Yunon who came 4th runner up representing the Philippines in the 2003 Miss World. Nicole Schmitz, who won in 2012, was the Philippines bet in the 2013 Miss International Pageant held in Japan. The application form for the contest can be downloaded from http:// missphilaust.com.au/. lFilipino-American dance Filipino-American sensations COOKIES are headed Down Under for the first time with a two-city promotional tour next month, according to MAS Presents and Triple8Funk. The Cookies will showcase their amazing routines at the Battlegrounds shows in Melbourne on August 17 at Kew High School and in Sydney on August 23 at the Sydney University Sports & Aquatic Centre. The Cookies snared the World of Dance title earlier in the year. They recently completed a back-to-back victory at Body Rock dance championship this month, adding yet another trophy in a long list of remarkable achievements for the dynamic dance crew. They first came to prominence in 2002, when a bunch of high school friends decided to form their very own hip hop dance team out of their garage, which came to be known as Choreo Cookies. Founded by Emmett Agapay, the San Diego-based dance crew started with a handful of members but has now grown