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Despite technical difficulties, Fairfield University’s fourth annual Flavors of Asia Festival, a multicultural celebration of Asian countries, managed to garner a satisfied crowd with its host of food, performances and fashion.
Asian Student Association and South Asian Student Association combined efforts to host the festival, which took place in the Oak Room on Nov. 9.
The beginning of the event started off with a buffet of food. With tickets costing $5 beforehand and $7 at the door, attendees were able to sit down at tables or line up for food, served by members of ASA and SASA.
Traditional Chinese food like lo mein and egg rolls, along with Indian bread called ‘naan’ and curry were available. People appeared to enjoy this food, despite having to wait.
Technical difficulties prevented a smooth run of the festivities. MCs Anthony Lau ‘13 and Omar Munshi ‘13 introduced the represented Asian countries through a PowerPoint, but it lacked volume in the beginning. During some cultural dance performances, the music was unexpectedly cut off.
However, apart from those difficulties, the festival was well received.
The first performance was by MC Anthony Lau’13 and Luoshen Wang’13 who sang a Mandarin song.
Glee club member Kathy Alonzo’13, accompanied by guitarist John Soldano’13, sang a Filipino song.
Many performers came from outside of the University. Performers included children from Fairfield Chinese Dance Academy who performed ribbon dances, recited Chinese poems and sang traditional Chinese music.
Also part of the list of performances were the University of Connecticut’s Husky Bhangra and ThundeRaas. With their high-energy choreography and vibrant, colorful costumes, the Indian folk dance groups had garnered applause and whispers of awe from crowd members.
In between acts, the clubs hosted raffles with prizes ranging from sets of calligraphy items to gift cards for the Asian restaurant Hunan Pavilion.
The festival finished off with a fashion show where 22 ASA and SASA club members showed off traditional clothing like the Vietnamese áo dài and the Pakistani shalwar kameez.
Around 250 attended the festival, according to ASA member Jamaimah Omictin’13.
ASA President Nancy Nguyen said of the event: “Of course, this event could not have been such a success without the help and support of faculty, staff, student performers and our very own members. I’m very happy with Flavors’ turnout and I am glad so many people came to support us.”
Umar Munshi ‘13 echoed Nguyen’s sentiments. “All of the performers did a fabulous jjob,” he said. “I must say, I was particularly excited and definitely amaazed to see the UC ThundeRaas and Husky Bhangra perform. [They] brought exciement to the event, they displayed the energetic South Asian culture and they were undoubtedly outstanding.”
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