Miss Cambodia Utah 2014

Do you guys remember when I wrote about speaking at the Miss Cambodia Utah 2014 orientation meeting in November? Well, their competition day is finally here! I've been particularly excited because  this is the first time that the Cambodian community in Utah has held a cultural pageant. I've also never gotten the chance to attend their New Year's celebration so it's a double excitement!

I ran into a couple friends at the event! And not all of them are Cambodian! Just shows how supportive everyone is of each other's cultural celebrations.

The Cambodian community was so gracious to invite me to come speak at the pageant. I told them that although I'm not Cambodian, I decided to dress up in their cultural clothing to get in the spirit of Cambodian New Year's. They gave me a heartfelt applause after I said that. It was a really great crowd. I also learned how to say Happy New Year's in Khmer..."Sua S'dey Ch'nam Ch'my."

I wasn't the only one Vietnamese who got in the Cambodian spirit. My sister did too!

7 strong-willed contestants competed for the title of Miss Cambodia Utah this year. Their phases of competition included private interview, traditional costume, evening gown, and on-stage Q&A.

I was blown away by the fun energy of the entertainment and performances they had. They are such a fun group of people. They had performances from all different age groups - a little girls' fashion show to an all-male recreation of the YMCA dance. There's no way you would've fallen asleep at this show!

The results boiled down to Darlene Neth being named as 2nd runner-up, Michelle Tiem as 1st runner-up, and Kanika Eng as the first Miss Cambodia Utah 2014!

I am so thrilled for Kanika! Her and I first met when we were contestants for Miss UN USA in 2012. She won the Congeniality award that year and it was rightfully given because she is such a sweet person! I absolutely love her! In the beginning, she had doubts about competing but Agnes and I pushed her to enter the Miss Cambodia Utah...and look where she is now! I'm so proud of her and can't wait to work with her this year.

Shoutout to Chanda Chuon for all of his hard work in making the Cambodian New Year's and Miss Cambodia Utah event such a success! I know he's been stressed out trying to juggle a bazillion things at once but he handled it with grace. And a special acknowledgement to my pageant director, Agnes Higley to all of her guidance in helping the Cambodian community put on their first cultural pageant. She's dedicated a lot of time with them as well. Glad I could be there to witness the result of their hard work!