Miss Asia Pageant North America Kicks-Off At Turning Stone

Verona, NY (WIBX) - The 2011 Miss Asia Pageant officially kicked-off at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, Host of the semi-final and final rounds of the pageant. Organization President, Raymond Xu says the goal of establishing, Miss Asia Pageant North America is to raise awareness about the Asian culture, as well as to enhance the image of the Asian Community throughout the world.

One contestant and recent graduate from SUNY Albany, Sarina Sun says the pageant is an opportunity for her to showcase her singing talent and to stay busy, as well as to do her part to promote Asian heritage and culture.

The Miss Asia Pageant North America is taking place during the first weekend in August. Contestants will be judged on their beauty, grace and intelligence, and organizers say among other prizes, the winner will be a Spokesperson for issues important to the Asian community, as well as the Friendship Ambassador for the Oneida Indian Nation to "promote friendship and cultural exchanges with the Asian community in North America and Asia."

Officials say contestants are coming from across the country, including from Australia. Xu said, "The Chinese population happens to be a huge part of the Asian community in North America, and therefore, we are going to take a leading role this year to launch this wonderful pageant event. We have meanwhile reached out to other Asian communities such as Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese and more. Hopefully, with the joint efforts from all of us, we will make it truly an international event in the near future." For more information about the August 6th weekend event, contact the Turning Stone Resort and Casino at (315) 361-7711 or on line at www.turningstone.com.