On Saturday, April 8, the Asian Cultural Alliance (ACA) will be hosting their annual Asia Fest in celebration of Asian cultures and traditions from 7 to 9 p.m. With performances, food, traditional dress, and great music, Asia Fest is sure to be a night to remember!
There will be several performances at the event including members of the Loyola and Baltimore community. Among Loyola’s performers include the Chimes (the all-male a cappella group), Unleashed step team, and Patron and Gabriel Nacion ’19, who will be singing songs in Tagalog (the Filipino language). In addition to performances by Towson University students, there will also be a traditional dragon dance featuring a life-size dragon.
One of the main goals of Asia Fest is to share the amazing culture of Asian traditions which includes the cuisine and delicacies of different Asian countries. Food at the event will include tastes of China, Japan, the Philippines, among several others.
“I guess I am a little biased since I am Filipino, but Asia Fest is definitely one of my favorite events on campus. I love performing for it because it showcases Asian and Asian-American culture for all of Loyola to celebrate,” Gideon Abadilla ’19 said.
Led by president Joey Patron ’18, vice president Jan Manzanero ’19, treasurer Jeni Rosales ’19, secretary Deseri Tsepetis ’19, and public relations representative Kelsey Keeling ’19, the ACA executive board has dedicated a lot of time and effort into creating an event that captures the richness of traditions and cultural differences between several Asian cultures.
A lot of club members are very excited about the event and deem it to be very important to the campus’ diversity. “I joined ACA because I wanted to be able to share Asian culture with the Loyola community. My favorite part of Asia Fest is seeing a lot of people coming and enjoying the wonderful food and performers,” Manzanero said.
ACA is holding a several events in April, as this month is Asian Pacific Islander Awareness Month (APIA). On Tuesday, April 11, ACA will hosting the APIA Month keynote speaker Qurrat Ann Kadwani presenting “They Call Me Q” from 7-9 p.m. in McManus Theater.
Throughout the year, ACA holds bi-weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. that are open to all Loyola students who have any interest in learning more about Asian traditions around the world. Meetings include trivia nights, Asian food nights, discussions about current events regarding the Asian community, and even a “roll your own sushi” night.
