Saturday night was a stunningly classy affair as Miss Earth SA invited ZAlebs to their gala dinner  where this year's Miss Earth South Africa would be crowned. The night was filled with jovial exchanges, entertaining music, and of course, a beautiful bevy of ladies, each competing for the opportunity to be crowned Miss Earth SA. 

Before the event kicked off, we were entertained by the sounds of a Marimba ensemble, consisting of highschool students from Dainfern College. They may have been young in age, but their talent was immeasurably abundant. We had the opportunity to mingle with some of the guests, the finalists as well as last year’s Miss Earth SA, Tamerin Jardine, who was dressed impeccably, by JJ Schoeman. We asked her how she felt on the night,

“I feel great. Although I have to let go of my title, I know that it will be going to an amazing lady, they’ve all done a great job and I’m proud of every single one of them. Miss Earth SA has been a wonderful experience for me”

Thank u 2 @JJSchoeman for my amazing dress. Thank u 2 @deriotti @BijanHair 4 my hair Thank u 2 @gi_myers 4my make up pic.twitter.com/girilJcXjC

— Tamerin Jardine (@Tamerin_Jardine) August 17, 2013

Before too long, we were whisked away from the foyer and into the enchanting surrounds of the Montecasino Ballroom. The stage was set for a wonderful night, and that’s what we were fortunate enough to experience as all 15 finalists took turns to wow the audience.

It was evident that the Miss Earth finalists had been on an emotional journey, and that was most evident in their speeches. The most notable example of this emotion and inspiration, was Katryn Barwise’s emphatic line in her speech,

“Believe what you can become, and become what you can believe”

In the end, though, there could only be one Miss Earth SA, and it was the gorgeous Ashanti Mbanga, who teamed up with ZAlebs to help Stop Hunger Now on Mandela Day earlier this year.

She was stunningly dressed, confident and cheerful the whole night as she charmed not only the judges, but the entire audience, and at the end of the night she came out a deserved winner.

We are looking forward to watching Ashanti grow from strength to strength as she embarks on an even more exciting adventure with Miss Earth SA. ZAlebs will be interviewing Ashanti as well as the other Miss Earth SA finalists this week, so keep an eye out for that!

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