Photos courtesy of Jet Martell and Leo Nguyen.
The 2013 Coronation and Charity Gala took place on May 5, 2013.
Coronation was a jam-packed evening recognizing the Miss Vietnam of Northern California Intercollegiate 2013 Court. Not only was the event about officially crowning the new court, but it was also a charity gala; MVNCI partnered with United Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California (UVSA) to raise funds for the charity Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach (M.E.M.O.) that assists rural villages and orphanages in Vietnam by providing monetary donations and free health clinics. The Court members spent weeks preparing for the event from finding sponsors to donate items to auction, preparing decorations, and even setting up their own online auction of hand-crafted goods. My auction item was a drawing of any subject; the individual who won my item requested that I draw Mike Wazowski from Disney’s Monsters Inc. It was definitely a change for me, since I’m used to portraits of human subjects!
The Coronation itself was a wonderful evening of seeing familiar faces and being acquainted with new ones. There were past MVNCI Court members and also other pageant organizations, such as Miss Vietnam Sacramento and Mrs. Vietnam Sacramento, that traveled all the way from Sacramento to the Bay Area to support us. Most importantly, all the Court members were thrilled to have their family, friends, and 2013 MVNCI Representatives present to share in the evening filled with a fashion show, dancing, singing, and games.
A special thank you also to Vien Thao TV for covering the event and to the companies and individuals that donated their goods or services, such as Jet Duong, Bradford Renaissance Portraits, Ariix, Hayward Karaoke, Cindy Nha Nguyen, David Ma, Fancy Flavors, Moses Sison Photography, Miss Asian Global, and Electric State of Mind. The donated goods and services were auctioned off, and the funds raised went toward M.E.M.O. One of my favorite memories was the auctioning of wine bottles. I was asked to present the most expensive one, a reserve wine from the foothills of Portugal, and there was a bidding war between my boyfriend’s table and my MVNCI mentor’s table. And, guess what, my mentor won!