Asian Festival 2014: “Experience, Explore & Enjoy”

By Corih Kim

As the biggest Asian Festival in the Mid-Atlantic area, and continues to grow each year, as more participants and attendees partake in the celebration of East, Southeast, and South Asian cultures. The Asian Festival DC 2014 showcased the diverse Southeast Asian cultures, focusing on Thailand, Philippine, India, China, and Vietnam. The festival featured a main stage and a second stage. On the main stage, attendees enjoyed many culturally vibrant performances, and attendees competed against each other on the second stage. The festival was jointly hosted by the Thai Tennis Organization in America (TTOA), working with local Asian Associations and Singha Beer, at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland.

Each country created a “village,” where they promoted and sold traditional art and goods, tourist sites, food, and even plants. The embassies and governmental associations visited the Festival, allowing the residents who are still citizens of their respective states the ability to register for absentee voting and introducing economic opportunities for micro and small businesses through development bank loans. Volunteers for each village provided brochures and introduced various items representing their countries. Nha Viet Nam of Vietnamese Literary & Artistic Club (VLAC) of Vietnamese Cultural Center encouraged interest in Vietnamese folk and traditional art, as it is traditionally different from modern or western art in both use of tools, materials, and style.

The Asian Festival held most of its events and performances on Saturday, and held closing ceremonies on Sunday. They planned four events on the main stage on Sunday, starting with Zumba, Hulala by Yo-Yo, Inc., Migrant Heritage, and finishing off with a three-hour concert by many of Vietnam’s celebrities such as Bang Kieu and Ngoc Anh. On the second stage, the “India Dance Competition” took place in the morning, followed by “Rising Young Stars” competition that closed the festival.

The Festival originally began from TTOA’s desire to spread love of tennis, and to promote educational initiatives via scholarships. It is now one of the biggest festivals in the region, and continues to grow.