TORONTO HOSTS THE 6TH ANNUAL SEARCH FOR Miss Teenage Canada

Eighty contestants from across the country will compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada in Toronto TORONTO, ON – Eighty of Canada’s best and brightest teenaged women will take over Toronto July 13th -20th as they compete for the title of Miss Teenage Canada 2013. The girls-donned in their crowns and sashes-will take in the sights and attractions of the city, engage in fundraising and leadership challenges and prepare for the big competition on Saturday, July 20th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 8:00pm. Now in its sixth 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 ambassadors. Last years Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Winner, Megha Sandhu, is a Health Sciences student at Marianapolis College. She is enthusiastic about the performing arts and has a desire to promote awareness for special needs children in school environments. This past year, she traveled to Guatemala to represent Canada on an international level. She also had the opportunity to speak to over 20,000 youth at ‘We Day’ spreading a positive message. This summer, Megha will travel to Kenya for three weeks on a Me To We service trip where she will continue to spread a message of positivity through building a school and engaging with the local community. The reigning Miss Teen Canada – World, Megha Sandhu of Montreal will crown her successor at The 6th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition on July 20th 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk “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 Teenage Canada. “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 Teenage Canada is committed to setting the highest standards of competition compared to other pageant systems. As a result, Miss Teenage Canada 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 Teenage Canada 2008 winner, Katie Starke, was a hockey-playing tomboy who had never walked in high heels before entering the competition. With a strong social responsibility component to the contest, each Miss Teenage Canada contestant is required to fundraise individually for the international children’s charity, Free The Children ( www.freethechildren.com) through local sponsors in their communities. Each winner of Miss Teenage Canada 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. THE MAIN EVENT The 6th annual Miss Teenage Canada Competition takes place on July 20th 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada at 8:00pm EST. The reigning Miss Teenage Canada 2012 Megha of Montreal will crown her successor. Canada’s top finalist from across the country aged 13-19 come together for a night of Glamour and Excitement. They will compete for over $30,000 in cash and prizes and one will walk away with the Crown. Hosted by Degrassi’s Luke Bilyk, a surprise guest performance and a celebrity-judging panel it promises to be a night to remember. Tickets are $55.00 + HST and can be purchased at http://tickets.ticketwindow.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=1537 Delegates will also be presenting a cheque for a surprise amount to benefit Free The Children www.freethechildren.com This year the money will go to their new development in Kenya. A free live webcast of the event will be shown online at www.missteenagecanada.com to allow fans and family from a cross the country to tune in. ABOUT Miss Teenage Canada Now in its sixth year, Miss Teenage Canada is the Official Preliminary to 10 international pageants including the Miss Teen Universe Pageant. More than a pageant, the quest of Miss Teenage Canada is to find 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, participate in community-building initiatives and fight for an important cause. It provides a chance to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people both at home and around the world. Miss Teenage Canada 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. MEDIA CONTACT To request images or interviews with Miss Teenage Canada contestants during contest week or media passes to the July 2th contest at the Queen Elizabeth Theater please contact: Sarah Fukumoto MacIntyre Communications alison.stephens@depictpr.com sarah@macintyrecommunications.com 647-801-3665