The Premier paid a quick visit to beauty queen contestants on Thursday, leaving them with a few words of wisdom for their upcoming pageant.

Premier Ewart Brown was happy to meet with girls from the Miss Teen Bermuda Island Pageant and said: “I know that not everyone can win that night — but you can win before the night.”

Dr. Brown shook contestants’ hands and briefly chatted with them as media snapped pictures outside Cabinet house.

The contestants in this year’s pageant are Zaire Lowe, Jessica Richardson, Shadre Steede, Capri Wilson, Jacree Smith, Alexa Lightbourne, Daniela D’Amato and Taniece Edmead, as well as Angela Dickinson and Allantae Basden, who were not present for the Premiers’ greeting.

According to Terry Smith, producer, director and promoter of the pageant, this year is going to be more extravagant than ever before.

The prizes for the pageant continue to increase said Mr. Smith — this years’ winner will be given a $1,000 prize, a watch from Crissons and, for the duration of her reign, will have her wardrobe provided by Jazzy’s Boutique, her hair styled by Transformations and her make-up done by Parfait, the official make-up artists for the pageant.

In addition to the prizes, this year’s winner will win a trip to St. Kitts where she will compete in the Miss Teen Caribbean competition, Mr. Smith said.

The pageant will also feature a “Miss Teen Super Model” category, where contestants will model the latest styles from local boutiques. This new portion of the competition will be judged by some of the leaders in the local fashion industry.

According to Mr. Smith, the girls should be great competitors this year.

“This is probably the most focused group,” he said.

The Royal Gazette spoke with some of the contestants after their meet-and-greet with the Premier.

Fourteen-year-old Shadre Steede said of the experience: “I thought he was going to be a very nice and kind man. I was sort of nervous but when I shook his hand I started to lose all my nervousness.”

Miss Steede, the youngest girl in the competition, added: “Being the youngest I think it’s a little more challenging because the other girls have matured more than me. I have to keep my expectations up high.”

Though only two training sessions into the competition, 16-year-old Capri Wilson was looking forward to the pageant ahead of her.

“I’m looking forward to hearing some constructive criticism from the judges, seeing my parents and making them proud and also seeing everything come together from the last seven weeks,” she said.

When asked why she joined the competition, Daniela D’Amato, 16, said: “Basically for a new experience — I’ve never done anything like this before... I thought it would be fun to try something new.” She also said she was also looking forward to making new friends.

While the pageant is sure to be a rewarding experience, it’s not all fun-and-games, 14-year-old Jacree Smith said. “The most challenging part of the experience so far is getting ready for the pageant — getting all our outfits together and getting the platform speech as well.”

The girls will strut their stuff on August 19 at City Hall, while the talent and Super Model portions of the pageant will be judged on August 16.