Photos: Your Highness Grandmas Crowned At Annual Pageant

Shake it, grandma!

The Be Proud Foundation honored local grannies for their beauty and talent this past Sunday at the Kings Bay Y (3495 Nostrand Avenue), crowning Tamara Kataeva and Leya Popivker as Your Highness Grandmother and Your Highness Queen Grandmother, respectively.

A panel of grandfathers was tasked with making the difficult decision, evaluating the honorable ladies based on their costumes, singing and dancing. Now in its 13th year, the theme of the event was “Our thanks to America,” and many of the contestants integrated the red, white and blue into their costumes to express gratitude to their adopted country.

Tamara Kataeva, winner of the grandmother category, had an edge, having come from an entertainment background. Born in Uzbekistan and trained as a nurse, Kataeva later found her true calling in the arts. She became an actress, performing in New York’s ethnic theaters, and has toured throughout the United States, Israel and Europe.

Leya Popivker, winner of the Queen Grandmother category, from the Ukraine, is as book-smart as she is dazzling. A graduate of Kiev’s Trade Economics Institute, she spends her free time singing, dancing and traveling. Here in the U.S., she practices cosmetology.

Congratulations to Kataeva and Popivker, and to all the grandmothers who participated!