Taste of Asia to offer food, cultural performances

The IU Auditorium will be filled Sunday with an array of sounds and scents as the IU Asian American Association holds its annual Taste of Asia cultural event. From 5:30 to 8 p.m., the audience can view acts such as Tae Kwon Do demonstrators and Chinese yo-yo performers and be served a range of cuisine from local Asian restaurants.\n"I think it's just a great opportunity for people to experience things that they have never seen before," said AAA President Tony Truong. "A lot of these things aren't mainstream, so you wouldn't see them unless you went to an event like this."\nFor this reason, Truong said it was important for the event to have free admission so as many people could attend as possible. To meet this goal, the AAA secured sponsorship from the IU Student Association Assisted Inter-Organizational Development fund, Asian Culture Center, Residence Halls Association and individual residence halls and the Office of Diversity Education, as well as food donations from Asian restaurants throughout Bloomington.\nAnatolia, Chow Bar, Dragon Express, Esan Thai, Japonais and Red Sea-Inter are just some of the restaurants that will supply food, which AAA executive board member Alice Cheng said is a major part of the event. However, she said she is most excited by the scheduled entertainment.\nA poetry slam, a band performance, a Koto stringed instrument act, a Samulnori Korean percussion display, an Indonesian dance and a number of short stories told by guest speakers are lined up to emphasize the "Stories From Another Life" theme.\n"Everyone has a story to tell and they are all different, but there is a common theme of similarity between all people," Truong said. "If you take the time to listen to someone's story, you can get to know them and learn to appreciate who they are."\nCheng said the AAA has been working on the event since January and she is looking forward to seeing how many people will come and how much they will enjoy the stories and performances.\nLast year's Taste of Asia drew between 500 and 700 people, but AAA is hoping to increase the number to about 1,000.\nCheng said she hopes that people who come to the event will get a new sense of diversity and be encouraged to join AAA.\n"We welcome anyone," she said. "You don't have to be Asian."\nTo further encourage such involvement, several organizations will set up booths at the event to provide information about their groups and raise awareness.\n"We want people to walk away thinking, 'Wow, that was really neat. I wonder what else is out there,'" Truong said. "We want to scratch the surface and let people continue digging themselves."\nTruong added that he hopes people will walk away from Taste of Asia with a greater appreciation, not only about Asian and Asian-American culture, but about diversity in general.\n"It's something that is really important in today's world," he said. "And if you do not understand diversity, you are at a serious disadvantage to people who do understand"