During the show with the gorgeous ladies: Sacha Stewart (Miss Teen Ontario 2012), Francesca McFadden (Miss Teen Southern Ontario) and Shelby Malekkerr

This past weekend, I was able to travel to Toronto where the new Miss Teen Ontario World 2013 would be crowned along with other finalists. The first day I arrived, the girls were busy rehearsing for the final night show. In fact, it was almost as if I was having a flashback, seeing as, just a few months back, I myself was competing for the Quebec title at my pronvincial pageant. I remember rehearsing for countless hours just as these girls were. In other words, I could certainly relate to both the excitement and anxiety they were experiencing.

Becoming a title holder is certainly no easy task, it involves countles hours spent in rehearsals, trying to perfect your every move. Thank god we have the help of our fabulous choreographers!

What was amazing was that before I even knew it, the night of the final show had arrived and it was time for the girls to prove themselves to the judges. What I love most about this event, is that it really showcases who the girls are and what they stand for. This is why Miss Teen Canada has a platform portion, to see what interests and motivates the girls. I for one was so excited and touched after hearing the girls’ stories back stage. From bullying, environmental awareness, building positive self-image, volunteerism to mentoring-you name it, these girls had it down!

I would like to congratulate 17 year old Bianca Carelli from Totonto for obtaining the title of Miss Teen Ontario! What a sweet and talented girl she is!

Organizing a pageant like Miss Teen Ontario is certainly no easy task. I would like to thank everyone who participated and made this event a success. From make up artists, hair stylists, choreographers, etc this event would of never been possible without you all.

One important thing that I hope comes across is that, regardless of the night’s results, I urge the girls to continue to pursue their goals in life and to never give up on their dreams (regardless of how cliche that may sound). In my eyes, they are all winners and I hope that they will embody the young confident women that I know they are.

Myself and the beautiful Sacha Stewart (Miss Teen Ontario 2012) before the show

xoxo Megha

This year’s Vancouver We Day was intense. For those who do not know, We Day is a chance for kids and teens across Canada to get empowered by international stars with a message that young people can change the world. I was certainly moved while listening to speakers like Magic Johnson, Desmond Tutu, Justice Sinclair, Demi Lovato and many more.

This We Day, I had the honor of speaking on stage and sharing a positive message with youth across Canada. After having raised funds for Free the Children this past year, I really began to educate myself on the foundation and about some of their overseas projects. This summer, I will have the opportunity to work on an overseas Me to We project, getting to volunteer abroad and build a school for children who may have never set foot inside a classroom before.

After speaking about my affiliation with Free the Children, I had the honor of introducing the mayor of Vancouver; Gregor Robertson, whom I had the chance to meet backstage before my speech. Not only is he on a mission to end homelessness but he is also trying to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world.

Overall, We Day was a life changing experience that I will never forget. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I could speak in front of 20 000 people! Miss Teen Canada has certainly given me opportunities that I am very grateful for. Had this been me two years ago, I doubt I could of done that I did this past Thursday.

Vancouver – CBC did video on Vancouver WE day here, and there’s more pictures and text on this 2012 Vancouver  WE Day story page of the Huffington Post.

I would like to thank Craig and Mark Kielburger and everyone from Free the Children for inviting me to be apart of this fantastic event.

Megha

Below is Miss Teen Canada – World 2013 Megha Sandhu at Balzacs Coffee House in the Distillery District of Toronto.   Every year this picture is the same, only different.

The 2013 Search for Miss Teen Canada World enjoyed a thrilling scavenger hunt at the Distillery Historic District and many girls visited Balzacs and did survey the scene of the great picture pose, and some snapped themselves in this framing, which for me is a terrific honour.  There was a comprehensive write up about 2013 Miss Teen Canada World Megha Sandhu at Distillery District, and once again I’ll mention that the photo seen above of her crowned head and shoulders at Balzacs is something of a tradition.

Here is my favourite shot of Megha in which you can see a young person entering into a brand new role in life. She is literally feeling the weight of the crown. Minutes later here at Pure Spirits Oysters Toronto in the Distillery District there were two young girls asking for autographs – they saw the sash and the crown and realized they were in the presence of a celebrity, Its amazing and I was struck by it .. but for Megha, on this day it was a real awakening; she was still getting used to wearing the uniform and being Canada’s foremost teen ambassador

New Miss Teen Canada World 2012 Regional Delegates Squidoo Lens was created to display photos and text and twitter feeds from the annual event. I love the videos here. This lens is actually my pet project and will immortalize the 2012 event in history forevermore

The blogs found fashion and beauty brand sponsors and relevance in different ways…

Each delegate recorded their first posts and these are indexed on the Squidoo lens.

The excitement of the night is preserved forever in the pictures of the day – over sixty girls in dress rehearsal hours before the show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto. Here are the Miss Teens rehearsing the opening number – look carefully and you’ll see some of them don’t have shoes on their feet yet… That’s the kind of excitement we’re talking about.

Danica Cox won the Social Media award sponsored by S-Trip and she will join Megha Sandhu on a Grad Trip to some exotic destination, somewhere in the world.

July 15th 2012 was Mentor Night

Read the Mentor Night, 2012 Miss Teen Canada – World Squidoo Lens

Dr Archer moderated Mentor Night

Melani Chong, Dr Archer, Alexandra Orlando and Katrina Hadden

LOOK GOOD, DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD video for sponsor, Aveda Canada

This video is the end result of a extensive campaign for Aveda Canada Professional Hair School and Beauty School that harnessed the Regional Delegates as performers and probably writer and director too.

This video was created by over sixty submissions to the Miss Teen Canada Blog network Video upload page wherein the best were taken and cut into a meaningful assembly that showcases ‘Beauty Superheroes’

We also asked each participant to write about what was happening behind the scenes. We wanted to know who was the camera person and who helped decorate the sets or make the props or provide some logistical support – its in this post that the 64 Miss Teens thanked the Aveda Institute locations in their home provinces for sponsoring the unique video challenge.

Here, I try my best to summarize the week’s action-packed events with somewhat of an itinerary and pictures we captured throughout the competition. Enjoy!

Day 1: was arrival day for all the delegates from across the world. After eating lunch and dinner (while getting to chat with all the girls), we were surprised with a clown parade where we met with various social workers who spoke to us about the importance of making a difference in the lives of those who are bed ridden in hospitals. There couldn’t of been a better way to start off the competition and not to mention a great ice breaker.

Day 2: was the poolside and beach bikini photo shoot where we shot with a great team of photographers. The photo shoot was followed by dance rehearsals for the final night show. So far there were 35 delegates from around the world who had arrived. I was also trying to practice my Spanish with the Latin American girls at this point. Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the photo shoot.

Day 3: was our video shoot day. Dressed in our national costumes, we shot 30 second video clips where we introduced our country and ourselves. Here are some pictures of my vibrant and lively costume.

Day 4: was the night of talent show and by this time I had been practicing my Spanish because I was to perform my comedy skit in both Spanish and in English. Luckily, my accent was convincible and the audience was amused!

Day 5: was a rather busy day, in that, we started off the day with a visit to parliament. We then had an interview on a local radio station, followed by bowling and then ended the day modelling for a local fashion show.

Day 6: was the day before the final show and we were to be in another fashion show (how cool!). Here are some behind the scenes pictures along with runway pictures:

Day 7: Before I knew it, the night of the final show had arrived. This past week was a long and busy one but overall one of the best experiences of my life. Through traveling and meeting new people, I can personally say that I learnt a lot in a very short amount of time. Regardless of Sunday’s results, I sincerely hope that I represented Canada well and made people proud. Finally, here are some shots from the final night competition

xo
Megha

Megha Sandhu
Miss Teen Canada World 2012

Canada’s top 64 Regional Finalists from across the country come together for a night of unprecedented glamour and excitement. The delegates will compete for over $30,000 in cash and prizes and one will walk away with The Crown!

Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk, and with special performances by Canadian Multi-Platinum Artist, Karl Wolf, the 2012 MTC-W pageant promises to be a night to remember.

From left to right Miss Teen Canada World 2011, Lauren Howe;
Canadian Multi-Platinum Artist, Karl Wolf;
and Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk

Tickets are $55.00 and can be purchased at
http://tickets.ticketwindow.ca/eventcategory.asp?c=93
$1.00 for every Ticket sold will go to www.cardiackids.ca.

Delegates will also be presenting a cheque for a surprise amount to benefit Free The Children. This year the money will go to their new development in Nicaragua.

For the first time ever, a free live webcast of the event will be shown online at MissTeenCanadaWorld.com to allow fans and family from across the country to share the excitement and follow along at home!

Now in its fifth year, this years contest is the biggest yet. The girls face rigorous competition as they step up to the stage in hopes of becoming Canada’s next beauty and goodwill ambassador. Click Here to meet the finalists.

The contest is judged based on beauty, poise and leadership qualities. The top 20 girls will be pre-selected and the final vote goes to a pannel of judges.

Who are the Judges of Miss Teen Canada?

This year, the MTC-W judges include,

CityTV Fitness Personality, Stephanie Joanne;

Woody Michleb Award-Winning Hair Artist, Amy Michleb

Canadian Actress, Kristin Fairlie,

Sherrida Personal Management Model and Scout, Corey Ceccarelli

Career Expert, Maureen Fenn

Owner of Bells and Bows Bridal Center, Angeline McDonald

Susan J. Talent Model & Talent Management Founder, Susan J. Burych

Canadian Olympian, Okiki Akinremi

Canadian Idol Judge, Zack Werner

Modelling Veteran, Marg Brown

Toronto Dentist, Dr. Natalie Archer

Canadian Actress, Natalie Grace

and Soya Boutique owner, Melani Chong.

Last years Miss Teen Canada-World 2011 Winner was Toronto native, Lauren Howe.

Lauren is currently in her first year of University pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree. She graduated from high school with 95% average and is an avid philanthropist. She has traveled to Peru, where she helped re-build a fallen community building as a result of the aftermath of a devastating Earthquake. She has also been to Ghana to help build a high school and teach English to children. This summer, she will be traveling to India for another project with Free The Children.

“Our motto is to ‘be your own kind of beautiful’ and that is reflected in every sense of the word,” Says Michelle Weswaldi, Director of Miss Teen Canada-World. “It takes a lot more than a pretty smile to win the contest. It takes, brains, confidence and leadership.”

Weswaldi prides the pageant on its resonating core values like charitable involvement, personal growth and leadership, all mixed with a healthy dose of competition. Recognizing the sometimes-warranted negative stigma attached to pageants, Miss Teen Canada-World is committed to setting the highest standards of competition compared to other pageant systems. As a result, Miss Teen Canada-World is Canada’s most recognized competition of its kind.

“These are not your typical beauty queens, ” says Weswaldi. Ninety-five per cent of the contestants have never entered a pageant before. Miss Teen Canada-World 2008 winner, Katie Starke, was a hockey-playing tomboy who had never walked in high heels before entering the competition. The Miss Teen Canada Blog Network is another unusual component;  10% of each delegate’s score is derivative of their blogging skills.

With a strong social responsibility component to the contest, each Miss Teen Canada-World contestant is required to fundraiser individually for the international children’s charity, Free The Children through local sponsors in their communities. Each winner of Miss Teen Canada-World has the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world to visit the projects they have supported and to see first-hand the impacts of their fundraising with Free The Children. To date, the Miss Teen Canada- World organization has raised over $190,000 for Free The Children.

Providing an opportunity for self-promotion and expression, each contestant has her own blog as a requirement and is judged on her social media activity. Thanks to this strong social media element- including a daily MTC-W blog and video blogs- friends, family and hometown fans can follow the girls’ adventures as they dazzle Toronto from the inside out.

2012 Finalist with MTC-W 2012 Judge Stephanie Joanne

ABOUT MISS TEEN CANADA WORLD
Now in its fifth year, Miss Teen Canada-World is the Official Preliminary to the Miss Teen World Pageant. The 2012 Search for Miss Teen Canada-World is a quest to discover Canada’s brightest and best teen women from across the country. The competition provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, grow, challenge oneself, and participate in community-building initiatives in a fight for important causes. It provides a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people both at home and around the world. Miss Teen Canada World is the only truly National competition with finalists representing all 10 provinces across Canada. Delegates are handpicked from thousands of applicants from all across the country.

THANK YOU TO THE 2012 SPONSORS
Woody Michleb Hair Salon, Toronto Eaton Center, Extreme Fitness, Fuel Foods, Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics, Sallazo Slippers, Post-it Notes, S-Trip, Stephanie Joanne, Zack Werner Idol School, Aveda, Christina Swimwear, Bells and Bows Bridal,Richard Sibbald, Me To We Style, Jergans, Aqua Funky, Goody, B.Spoke, Toronto Academy of Acting, Glow Academy, Jeanne Lottie, Biore, Gourmet Burger Co.