On May 17th, the Asian American Heritage Council hosted the 14th annual Asian Cultural festival in celebration of Asian and Pacific Islander month. Many individuals across our community of Central Florida came together to join us to celebrate this month of observance.
Each year they feature a plethora of Asian countries and this year showcases countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam.
The Asian Cultural Festival was jam-packed with many different performances from 3:00 to 8:00 PM as they kicked off the event with Japanese Taiko Drumming.
Throughout the night, the festival features a diverse setlist of representation:
Our various performances under China orchestrated sweet melodies of singing and rhythmic dancing. Shang Chun Shan features an enjoyable, adorable kid’s choir, singing and dancing, with their vibrant outfits and beautiful flowers.
It was a joy to see India Fusion Dance dressed in their elegant traditional dresses dancing to traditional Indian hymns. Another performance from India features a fun-filled interactive dance lesson that left many of us with smiling faces!
Not only did Japan feature Taiko Drumming, but also a traditional dance performed by Wakafuji Kai with aspects of elegant fan dance to ritualistic stringed songs.
The Philippines were featured in the parade of nations flaunting classy barongs and filipinana dresses. A variety of Filipino food such as barbeque, noodles, and sweet drinks were served at the outdoor vendors which was enjoyed by festival-goers.
Thailand gave us a wonderful, immersive experience as we listened to the calm and nostalgic tunes of the Saw Beetle and the impressive synchronized and elegant movement through dances of Thep Baan Theong and Bangkok city.
Taiwan artistically showcases a dragon dance in a uniform line, working together, hand-in-hand to demonstrate a flow that is very similar to a snake or a water stream. What’s more, we see other unique dances along with a very “kicking” martial arts feature of Kung Fu!
With the representation of Korea, we saw their beautiful white tops on their flowy pink skirts while beating their drums melodically. They also performed coordinated fan dances to traditional music with feathery fans as the vibrant green and pink colors of their outfits standout. Giving a little modern shine, Love Dive gave us familiar KPOP tunes that left us jamming in our seats!
Vietnam gave us some beautiful tunes to enchant our ears with singing to presenting us with the skill of playing the Đàn bầu.
Lastly, of the Pacific Islands, we got to see the known and loved instrument, the ukulele as we went on a joyful Hawaiian journey which was a memorable performance!
The scavenger hunt was kicked off at 6pm, a family friendly activity that challenged participants to interact with various vendors to earn milestones closer to the grand prize of $100, as well as $50 to 2nd place and $25 to 3rd place.
The 16th annual Asian Cultural Festival was hosted at the Ocoee Lakeshore center and featured a diverse itinerary that included the Parade of Nations representing 8 countries, 20 unique performances, and a wide selection of Asian cuisine.
We give a big thank you to all our sponsors:
● Silver sponsors:
○ Vietnomz
○ Central Florida Korean Association
● Bronze Sponsors:
○ City of Orlando Human Resources
○ Travel + Leisure
● Venue Sponsor
○ City of Ocoee
● Media Sponsor:
○ Asia Trend
We would also like to share a thanks to our members:
○ Chinese American Association of Central Florida – www.orlandochinese.org
○ Chinese School of CAACF – www.orlandochineseschool.org
○ Council for Filipino American Organizations – www.cfaocfl.org
○ Muthamizh Sangam of Central Florida (MSCF) – www.orlandotamilsangam.org
○ Orlando Chinese Professional Association – www.ocpa-usa.org
○ Orlando Korea Culture Center – www.facebook.com/orlandokfestival
○ REACH of Central Florida – www.reachcf.org
○ Voice of Indonesians in Florida (VIDA) – VoiceofIndonesiansinFlorida-org.weebly.com
○ WAT Florida Dhammaram – www.watflorida.com
And finally we would like to share our appreciation for our food vendors, providing us wonderful meals, snacks, and trinkets to enjoy during the celebration:
○ Momoliciouz
○ Inihaw
○ Rock8 Food Fusion
○ The Lemon Grove
○ Micro Bites
○ Loopie Loom Art&Craft
Catch every performance from the AAHC Asian Cultural Festival on our YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdu7ZdkJFW7Ey3nBysucKNNgFOr4r_TDt&si=DaGQAv4f7ePbdnHI
