By Earl Leake
The Highland Community Center welcomed the holiday season with its annual Christmas banquet Saturday night, highlighted by the longstanding fashion show.
The master of ceremonies, Beverly Harris, doubled as a standup comic and she kept the audience laughing and wondering what she would say next.
There was entertainment from the Rev. Jackie Harris, senior pastor of Snow Hill Missionary Baptist Church, who sang a couple of songs that reminded the audience of the real reason for the season. Next was mime dancer Lachelle Covington, whose choreography was crisp, energetic and uplifting, with an arousing spiritual as her song of choice.
In between the entertainment, door prizes were given to lucky ticket holders. This included the drawing for the big raffle, and winners received cash to help with their holiday shopping.
Author LaQuisha Martin, a native of Mt. Gilead, spoke to the audience about her newly released book, “Pearlie Gates,” which was also available for purchase. It is a story about faith and how God used her cousin Pearl to grow in both of their lives.
The night was capped by the fashion show led by professional model James Leake. There were several Mt. Gileadans strolling down the “runway” and none more crowd-pleasing than 80-year-young Montie Hoover (above). Along with engaging the audience, her outfits were vibrant and coordinated with matching-colored eyewear.
The final set of the fashion show was a tribute to West Montgomery High School, which will close at the end of this school year and merge with East Montgomery to become Montgomery Central High. All models in this set were dressed in red and black, the colors of the West Montgomery High School Warriors.
The event concluded with an impromptu dance-on at the end, and it’s safe to say a good time was had by all.