The 2024 Miss Houston Chinatown Beauty Pageant finalists meet-and-greet event, organized by the Houston Tongsyuan Association, took place on Thursday evening, June 13th, at the TASTY Seafood Restaurant. The six beauty pageant contestants attended the event with their families. This year’s pageant co-chairs, Betty Gee and Teresa Chang, as well as pageant organizers Linda Wu, Tammy Su, C.A.C.A. Houston core team, and the 2023 Miss Houston Chinatown Grace Zhang, graced the occasion.
Teresa Chang thanked all sponsors and team members for their contributions to the selection and training of the contestants. She introduced this year’s theme as “Blooming Flowers,” symbolizing that each contestant is unique, blossoming into beautiful individuals, using their talents, passion, and wisdom to contribute to the community and make it a better place. She also announced that the beauty pageant will take place on July 13th at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, welcoming everyone to attend.
Betty Gee expressed gratitude for the 52nd edition of the Miss Houston Chinatown Beauty Pageant, acknowledging the long-term support of senior members of the Tongsyuan Association and sponsors. The pageant provides scholarships and funds to these contestants, who become goodwill ambassadors for the community, making the beauty pageant one of the most exciting celebratory events in the Houston community.
The six selected beauty pageant contestants introduced themselves and explained their talent performances for the pageant night. They are: contestant #1, Tina Su, 19 years old, studying at Texas A&M University, with a music-themed talent performance; contestant #2, Bobbi Ji, 18 years old, recently graduated from Columbus High School, will attend Rice University for pre-med, performing a traditional Chinese fan dance as her talent; contestant #3, Wendy Zhou, 22 years old, a recent graduate of Texas A&M University, will sing from the musical “Waitress” as her talent; contestant #4, Cindy Chen, 17 years old, a KINDER High School student, will perform an Asian cultural dance; contestant #5, Ellie Leung, 17 years old, will attend Texas A&M University with aspirations to become a veterinarian; contestant #6, Vicky Gu, 18 years old, attends the University of Texas at Austin and will showcase Shaolin kung fu and swordplay as her talent.
Grace Zhang shared her wonderful experiences as the goodwill ambassador for the Chinatown Miss pageant over the past year. It was her first time returning to Houston and reuniting with everyone. She passionately dedicated herself to education, establishing a non-profit foundation and working diligently with students from underprivileged areas, raising over $30,000 in scholarships for them. She even ventured globally, offering help to countries like India. She emphasized the importance of scholarships not only for personal development but also for giving back to the community and being a part of it, helping others.
Additionally, she mentioned her participation in the Miss Chinatown USA pageant in San Francisco, where she learned about preserving the traditions of Chinese Americans from their initial arrival in the United States and how they pioneered significant milestones. She encouraged the selected beauty pageant contestants to make the most of the experience, regardless of who wins the crown, to have a beautiful year and enjoy the experience that the beauty pageant brings.