We have received a heartwarming letter from Mrs. Benami yesterday and we had permission to publish. We wanted to share with everyone the nice photos (that ONLY WE have), sent along with it including a photo of Didi holding the Proclamation that the city of Knoxville had bestowed Didi that day.

On July 28th, 2010, it was “Didi Benami Day” in Knoxville, TN. What a truly sweet day it was: the city acknowledged and celebrated Didi’s homecoming and Didi performed before her family, friends and supporters. She was home! Thank you City of Knoxville! Thank you Mayor Bill Haslam!!

Dated July 29th, 2010

Dear Mae:

Didi’s adopted brother Randy took a boatload of photographs. Attached are four of them. Please let me know if you can see them. If you can see them, I’ll try to forward more to you.

One of the attached photos shows the crowd. It was a pretty good turnout for such a large arena and such high prices. Many of the people in my circle of friends could not afford to attend at $40+ per ticket. However, a good number of people from Didi’s school days in Knoxville did show up, which I appreciate more than I can say! I need to send them all some token of my appreciation. I could see how happy Didi was to see them again, and the fact that they came out on a weekday night to support her.

Locally, Wednesday nights like July 28th are customarily prayer meeting/church nights for Methodists, Baptists and many other church congregations. Many local people customarily reserve Wednesday evenings for that purpose only. Wednesday night is a family church night. No softball games/practices etc. are usually scheduled for that time slot, because it’s common knowledge that any meeting scheduled for a Wednesday night will have a spotty turnout, and that several people will have to be absent because of conflicting obligations. Yet we still had quite a few Knoxville people there, and I was very happy to see them!

I noticed that many people in the audience were not local to Knoxville, but had traveled a long way: from Oneida, from Nashville, from Atlanta, from Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and elsewhere, because they are huge fans of the American Idol Show.

An unusual number of the people who approached me also confided that there are members of their family (or they, themselves) who are dealing with life-changing illnesses. Many people in the audience draw their hope from the ideal behind the American Idol project, which is the prospect of ordinary people reaching for their dreams and seeing these ambitious dreams come true. I deeply respect this motivation, and I appreciate that so many fans came from very long distances to cheer on the performers.

Moti distributed hand fans with Didi’s photo, like the ones he had written to you about, Mae. I’ll try to get a photo of the finished product. Thanks to you and to Iya also for your artistic input!

We were seated in the tenth row, close to the front — not close enough to toss roses to Didi’s feet, which we wanted to do! We had to save her bouquets of red and multicolor roses, and give them to her later, before their tour bus left again. Didi loves roses, and she was happy with them.

Didi gave us a box with several beautiful scrapbooks from fans, which Randy will keep for her until the end of tour! These scrapbooks are lovely, and I appreciate all of the work and especially the love that Didi’s fans have put into making each one of these scrapbooks. I am certain that these scrapbooks are going to inspire her for a long time to come! And they are so, so beautifully made! Special thanks to the fans who have made scrapbooks. Some of Didi’s fans have sent ornate scrapbooks from a very, very long way. Didi is also looking forward to seeing the scrapbook from Philippine fans upon her return to Los Angeles for the concert at Staples Center on August 13. I am amazed by Didi’s fans! And I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

The last photograph shows Didi and Randy. Didi is holding the “Proclamation” that came from the Mayor’s office! You can see part of it. I need to send you a complete photo of it, Mae — but for the meantime, that’s the first snapshot that we have from Randy’s collection.

I feel that the Knoxville show was a success, and we were very happy to see Didi in person once again! Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement of Didi!

Best regards,

Mary Benami

Mr. Benami took this photo of Didi’s reunion with Mommy B at the Meet and Greet!!

More From DBFANSITE

• Bulletin from Didi Benami’s dad: 7/28 Hometown concert in Knoxville, TN [Updated]
• Dear Knoxville, TN: Won’t you watch the American Idol Live tour for us, and support your own Didi Benami?
• Knoxville.com feature: Homecoming queen, Didi Benami returns to town with ‘American Idol Live’ | The Definitive Didi Benami Fansite

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