Miss Asian Chicago 2024
Contestant Things to Prepare
Heritage Costume
Heels that match your outfits
Sticky Bra
If auditioning for talent segment, anything for your talent presentation
Long evening gown
Hair/Makeup for any events/activities/rehearsals
Travel for any events/rehearsals/activities
$300 deposit
An idea for your community platform project
Social media, journaling, content
TIME!
Heritage Costume
During the introduction segment of the pageant, contestants will wear an outfit that reflects their ethnic heritage(s). We encourage contestants to get creative! We will also make other optional opportunities for contestants to showcase this outfit, including, but not limited to, our non-profit's annual fashion show. The costume (or the design for the costume if it's not made yet) must be approved by our team.
Heels
We encourage contestants purchase skin-tone heels that are at least 3 inches tall and strappy. And we encourage contestants to start practicing in them immediately after being accepted! Make sure to stretch your toes, arch, and ankles before walking in heels, and try using socks to break them in. Contestants are allowed to wear different heels for different segments of the pageant, but we encourage re-wearing heels across segments so you can take time to break in only 1 or a few pairs.
Sticky Bra
A sticky bra is the easiest thing to wear under any outfit, especially the bikini for the Confidence Runway segment. You can purchase affordable sticky bras from Amazon and they're reusable as long as you rinse them after each use. We recommend a skin-tone bra.
Talent Equipment and Outfit
The talent segment is optional and contestants who choose to participate will audition for the up to 5 slots during one of the rehearsals. If you are chosen for talent, you will need to prepare your own talent gear. If you need any additional gear, please ask us. Your talent and your outfit/gear will need to be approved by our team.
Long Evening Gown
You will wear a floor-length evening gown for the Q&A segment, Community Platform Pitch, and crowning.
Hair/Makeup
For any events/activities/rehearsals you attend (optional or required), including the pageant day, you will need to either do your own hair/makeup, or you can hire someone to do it for you.
On the pageant day, you're allowed to bring one make-up artist and one hairstylist backstage, and they are not required to purchase a ticket, but they must stay backstage (unless they purchase their own ticket).
Travel Expenses
For any events/activities/rehearsals you attend (optional or required), including the pageant day, you will need to find your way there on your own and you will not be reimbursed for your travel. Our rehearsal space has free street parking and nearby CTA bus and subway stops. The pageant venue has free parking.
Deposit
We put a significant amount of time and resources into each contestant, and we want every contestant to have a strong stake in their own participation.
To show commitment, contestants must provide a $300 deposit by the date of the contestant photoshoot. If the contestant sells at least 5 tickets (priced at $80/each, includes dinner) and they complete the pageant program in its entirety, they will be refunded the full deposit the day after the pageant.
As an incentive to sell more than 5 tickets, EACH additional ticket sold after the first 5 will result in a $10 payment to the respective contestant, paid out weekly. Many former contestants were able to sell many more than 5 tickets!
Community Platform Project Idea
In reviewing the scoring segments, you'll notice that the community platform project comes up in two segments. It's an important project because it's what you would execute on for a year if you become Queen, First Princess, or Second Princess. Contestants will be provided with a template for the project plan and contestants can start scheduling one on one meetings with our team members as well as send drafts or discuss ideas on our Slack community.
Social Media, Journaling, Content
Instagram is where we do a majority of our marketing and we hope to tag all contestants. If you don't already, we suggest that you create a separate public Instagram account. We will also create a page on our website for each contestant to share content with those who might end up purchasing a ticket through them (which counts as a vote toward the Miss Crowd Favorite title!). Vlogging and taking photos of your journey and sharing your journey with your friends/family is a great way to solicit affirmation and support!
TIME
In order to be a successful contestant, you will need to allocate a significant amount of time to prepare for the segments of the pageant. There's no sure-fire amount of time we can suggest, but we believe it will take at least 1 month to draft a strong community platform project plan. And depending on how much experience you have walking in heels, it might take at least a month to break-in heels and walk properly in them. We will provide training and one on ones to help you along the way, but you will definitely need to put in the work on your own time as well.