Earlier this year at the Chin Evangelical Baptist Church, Chin National Day was celebrated by the Chin population of Indiana. In a similar fashion, the Chin Youth Organization held the CYO Supershow for Chin youth to celebrate Lai, or Chin, culture at the church.

The event celebrates the cultural uniqueness by holding a fashion and talent show. This year’s CYO Supershow took place on Oct. 25.

SHS senior Blessing Vanoso was a contestant who showed off her singing abilities.

“Upon entering the competition, I felt terrified of getting judged by others because I honestly don’t have a good voice,” Vanoso said. 

Even though Vanoso felt this, others gave her the confidence to compete. 

“They gave me the courage to face not just idol competition but any other competition,” Vanoso said.

SHS Junior Par Sung competed for the CYO show, but unlike Vanoso, it was for the fashion section. 

“I got a phone call from one of the board members from CYO Indiana,” Sung said. “She mentioned that I have been nominated to compete as a Miss contestant because of my willingness to be involved in our Chin community.” 

She was shocked when she got the phone call because she never thought about entering the fashion show.

“I was thinking to myself ‘Yikes…me? Miss? You must be joking,’” Sung said. 

Even though she did not plan to enter, she made sure that she was prepared, whether it was her walking or her stage presence. 

“I prepared myself in many ways,” Par said. “Walks, knowing my rhythm, answering questions, how to get the audience hype and the music.” 

Kailee Steadman, a junior at Franklin Central, was also part of the fashion show section.

“There’s been a lot of support from a lot of people that I’m not necessarily close with but they are still empowering me,” Steadman said. 

The show, while it was meant to be a way for Chin people to show off their talents and clothes, has helped her connect with people she never imagined she would be getting close with. 

“When I was entering, it was very spontaneous,” Steadman said. “I didn’t think I was actually going to do it. I got asked to try out because there were so few people, I looked at it as a good opportunity.”

Steadman was one of the contestants that designed her own outfit. Her dress had a vibrant color of pearly white as its background, sprinkles of diamond-shaped patterns on the lower half, and a whole collection of small colorful diamond shapes on the top. 

“I think that with the fashion, we were supposed to use Lai thuam,” Steadman said. “We have to design it ourselves and still incorporate traditional patterns in our outfit.” 

Biakku Mualhlun is the secretary for CYO Indiana and helped with the Supershow.

“The purpose of CYO Indiana’s Super Show is to help give exposure to our diverse and rich Lai culture by having a competition,” Mualhlum said. 

The show was live-streamed on Facebook for those who could not make it and it widened its reach all across the world.