Taste of Asia brings culture in Sunday event

Students can get a “Taste of Asia” through live performances and free food Sunday.
The Asian American Association is sponsoring this year’s Taste of Asia to help spread cultural awareness.

The event is free, and doors will open at 3:30 p.m. at the IU Auditorium. Performances will begin at 4 p.m. and will feature various IU organizations, each representing different cultural aspects of different Asian regions.

“I really like the performances we were able to bring in,” said sophomore Jenn Chen, president of the Asian American Association.

Sophomore Jake Zhang, publicity chair, agreed with Chen, saying the performances are interesting and entertaining.

Food from The Fortune Cookie, Chow Bar, Sushi Bar and others will be served.

The event is not exclusively for Asian students, but instead students of all ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to attend, said freshman Nick Wong, culture chair for the association.

Zhang said he enjoys seeing the variety of people that attend the event.

“It’s pretty cool to have all these people together,” he said. “It represents what we do.”
Chen said the organization is focused on bringing culture to campus because a lot of people don’t realize there’s a difference between Asian-American and Asian culture.
“It’s good to expose people to things they normally don’t see,” she said.

Besides celebrating culture, the event is kicking off the Celebration for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

The group received about 30 to 40 percent less funding for the event this year because of the economy, but that didn’t change the event.

“We have been able to pull together, and I have no doubt this event will be no less than astounding,” Wong said.