Hi Everyone!
It’s been a crazy last few days getting back into the flow of things back home, but I wanted to blog about my amazing week at Miss New York before many of the details slipped my mind.
Kira Kazantsev
First off, (spoiler alert) a BIG congratulations to our Miss New York 2014, Kira Kazantsev, who held the title of Miss City of New York. Kira is a 23 year old resident of NYC. She studied at Hofstra University and has plans to pursue her law degree. Kira’s platform is Love Shouldn’t Hurt: Protecting Women Against Domestic Violence and she performed an entertaining rendition of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams using a cup for her own percussion for the talent portion of the evening.
Amanda Mason and Nina Davuluri crown Kira Kazantsev
Now, for the recaps. I’ll be giving brief recaps on each day, with a few photos from each. For more photos, please check out my Facebook album!
Monday
Although not technically part of Miss New York week, Emily Stegeland and I decided to head down to Staten Island a day early so we could be well rested and settled in for the week to come. We had plans to leave at 9:30am and arrive around 1:00pm… but that didn’t really happen. We decided a later start would make us happier (along with a Dunkin run) then we stopped at Walmart and Burlington Coat Factory on the way. We ended up getting to the hotel around 3:30. It was a bit of an adventure, but luckily the traffic on the Goethals Bridge wasn’t too bad. Emily, Miss Fulton County, and I unpacked our stuff, set up the gown rack I brought, and organized our snackage. Then, we had a visit from the lovely Cassie Paradise. Cassie was a contestant this year and although she did not title, she is a wonderfully sweet girl who also volunteered at the pageant to help with the princesses. Cassie brought over her DVD for the Miss Staten Island/Richmond County pageant and so we watched that while eating some food we ordered. I realized I had forgotten to buy black spanx for under my opening number dress, and Cassie even volunteered to drive me to grab a pair! She’s super nice. ^_^
Tuesday
Emily and I (along with several other contestants) misunderstood the schedule for Tuesday and thought we had to check in with the Miss New York board in the morning. That wasn’t the case, so we ended up having time to kill before leaving for lunch. We spent some time getting to know the other contestants before loading on to the bus to the COMMONS Cafe for lunch. COMMONS Cafe is a delicious little food spot that has the motto “Eat Good, Do Good.” Run by the Nicotra family, this restaurant donates 100% of their profits to charities, scholarships, and the community.
After lunch, we headed over to the City Hall of NYC for a brief tour and to meet Mayor Bill De Blasio.
It was really awesome being able to see the inner-workings of the oldest City Hall building still used for its original function. Plus, I got to see George Washington’s writing table!!
We headed over to Pink & Pepper, an official sponsor of the Miss America Organization, after our city hall visit. PnP had already given each local contestant a pair of adorable zebra sunglasses and during our visit we each got another pair and a matching waterbottle! I was even able to hold NY’s shoes from the Show Us Your Shoes parade. PnP let us sneak a peek at the new show line coming out and I have to say I can’t wait to buy a pair (or 3, or 10…) because they are seriously so cute!
After some serious shoe shopping, we headed to the American Girl Doll Cafe for dinner (stopping to take pictures with some beautiful fans of course). The cafe was so stylish and we could even take dolls to eat with us (they were served little plate and cups!). The food was delicious and I loved the “dirt pudding” we got for dessert.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning we awoke for a full day of rehearsals, walking patterns, modeling, and dancing. It was a very long day, but luckily we were able to break it up with a visit to the Eger Harbor House.
The Eger Harbor House is an assisted living community, located in Staten Island, NY. The House is a beautiful building, but the residents are even more beautiful. I spent most of the time there with Salvatore, an Italian man whose story was simply amazing. He emigrated from Italy when he was younger, moving to Canada to work on a farm. But he didn’t stay there. Instead, he fled to NYC where he helped build the skyscrapers that make up the skyline. He spoke intermittent Italian to me and talked about how he wishes more folks still spoke Italian. He has 5 grown children and several grandchildren. He was very sweet.
I was also able to meet Mary, a 101 year old resident. She was still super vibrant and chipper, which was really awesome. 🙂
The Miss New York 2014 Class with Mary
Thursday
Thursday was tough. Rehearsals and dress rehearsals then practicing talent. All Day. Oy! After it was all over I then went to get my spray tan (I ended up going last! :'(). I did wear my glasses that day though, so Nina, Cat and I took a glasses selfie which was pretty funny. 
I also got the opportunity to chat with Mallory Hytes Hagan, Miss New York 2012, and Miss America 2013 who was in the hotel.
Friday
Friday morning I prepared for my interview which was scheduled for 12:30pm. I received a phone call that interviews were going quicker than planned so I ended up going in for mine at around 11:45 (which I didn’t mind).
Originally I planned to wear this burnt orange dress for my interview (I know, it looks red, but I swear it’s an orange)
Original dress
But, after a dress I wore at my send off party received rave reviews, it was decided I would wear this dress instead:
I certainly love both, but I definitely love the color on the teal one a little more. 😉
My interview went splendidly: I made the judges laugh, had great stories to tell them, and truly believe I showed not only my intelligence, but personality. I walked out of the interview feeling on top of the world- which is a great feeling! I think it was my best interview yet. 🙂
Unfortunately, my bliss was short lived as I had to rush back to my room and change for Fleet Week. The Miss New York Organization had us scheduled for us to have a tour of one of the war ships at the harbor. In the rush of the week I ended up forgetting my crown, but that’s okay because it was so windy I’d be afraid it would’ve flown off!
That night was the Preliminary Competition so we all went back to the St. George Theatre for dinner and to get ready for the show.
I had a blast dancing for the opening number, rocking my on stage question (What is one of your strengths that has become a weakness?), shining in evening gown, getting “Happy’ for swimsuit production, and singing for my talent. It was my first time performing a Broadway piece and although I had a few slight rough patches, I couldn’t be prouder of my performance on that stage. I was so nervous, but I hope you couldn’t tell. 🙂
After preliminaries, we were able to visit with friends and family which was wonderful. If you weren’t aware, my parents moved to North Carolina awhile back and I really missed my mom.
Saturday
The following day we could mostly relax before the finals night. I reorganized all of my things backstage and prepared myself for the best or the worst case scenario. I did my best- whether or not the judges selected me as a semi-finalist
(top 10) was totally up in the air, but I knew there was nothing more I could do. I was- and still am- so happy to have been given the opportunity to compete on the Miss New York stage with the 20 other women from across the state. I already won my crown- Miss Mohawk Valley- but to have the possibility of representing New York as a whole sure took my nerves to a whole other level. I love my community, my state, and my country and even without a crown love serving, a crown is just icing on the cake. 🙂
Dad, Katherine, me, Mom
Josh: my biggest fan, my rock, and my loving boyfriend.
In the end, I wasn’t announced for top 10, but that’s totally okay! The experience in an of itself was an amazing one! I met and got to know so many talented, beautiful, and dedicated young women from across the state who pride themselves in doing so much for our community.
For more photos from the show, please check out my facebook page! I have two albums of photos from Miss New York: One for all the appearances, and one for the two shows.
Warmest Regards,
Lauren
Crowning Adventures 