On Friday, May 2, 2014, the newly titled MVNCI court made our way to our first public event together at Dynasty Restaurant to celebrate the court of Miss and Mrs Vietnam USA at their coronation and Appreciation Gala. Personally, I was very excited to attend the Miss and Mrs Vietnam USA Coronation and Appreciation Gala. It had been three weeks since our last court gathering and I was excited to be reunited with the court and staff. This event was also very special because the newly crowned Miss Vietnam USA, Kimmy Huynh, was our very own pageant practice director who had worked endlessly to help us throughout our pageant experience!
Prior to entering, we all gathered outside waiting for each person to arrive. Each of the girls looked amazing in their beautiful ao dai’s! As our motto centralizes within the concept of unity and sisterhood, we put our arms up in our “ao dai pose” and walked in together as one. Upon entering the restaurant, I must say the culture was alive. Living away from home in Merced with a very low population of Vietnamese people, I could say that I had felt at home when entering and hearing the conversations circulating around the room.
The night was filled with pictures, great company, good laughs, different Asian food dishes, uplifting entertainment and … more pictures! It was extremely heart warming as guests approached us to congratulate us as well. One particular guest had made my night, as he shared to me how my singing performance at our pageant had touched his heart. It’s safe to say, that a lot of love was felt throughout the night, especially when we were asked to take pictures with so many different people.
As displayed in the photos, every person showed big smile- an emotion not only reflected on the exterior but felt within as well. We ended our night at the event with a large applause as we celebrated the accomplishments of the new 2014 court of Miss and Mrs Vietnam USA. On behalf of MVNCI, I would like to thank Miss and Mrs Vietnam USA for your invitation to this event. As we had walked into the event together as one, we walked out just the same… all with smiles on our faces as I thought in my head, “here’s to our first event as a MVNCI court and to the many more to come!”.
Photos c/o Kim Nguyen