A Change of Guard

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Monday 25 June 2012

Asian festival lets color and culture flow [in Massachusets]

Monday, June 25, 2012 
telegram.com 

Nationalities enjoy wider exposure
Picture
Michelle Puch, 11, left, and Pamela Tran, 11, dance during the Asian Festival yesterday. (T&G Staff Photos/CHRISTINE PETERSON)

WORCESTER —  Fearsome lions and capering Cambodian monkey dancers, sizzling samosas from India, Japanese sushi and wish trees revealed the diverse Asian communities of Central Massachusetts yesterday.

The ninth annual Asian Festival on Mulberry Street brought together 12 cultures — Bhutanese, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Nepalese, Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese — in a celebration of music, dance, martial arts, crafts and food.

The Italian Cultural Center was filled with brilliantly colored traditional Asian clothing — elegant Filipino maria claras, Korean han boks, Indian saris, Nepalese kurta suruwals and Japanese kimonos.

Mothers were calling to their children, people were greeting one another, families were sitting together and chatting in many different languages.

Tom Kelly and his 12 year-old daughter, Serena, of Shrewsbury have come to the festival three years in a row.


“This has an authentic feel to it, the food, the music, and the people are very friendly. I used to go to China on business, and this festival is a cultural experience,” Mr. Kelly said.

The Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts hosted the festival. Kyle Lai of Holden was on the Chinese Committee, helping to bring a Chinese yo-yo exhibition, classical Chinese dance and martial arts to the festival.

“I think it is good to share one’s culture, help people understand the Chinese culture which we are very proud of, and it’s fun, too,” said Mr. Lai who is also the principal of the Central Massachusetts Chinese Language School of Westboro.

His wife and daughters helped festival-goers make Chinese kick sacks and a cut-out 3-D Chinese character for spring.

“This is made during the Chinese New Year. Spring means that something new is coming,” said Mr. Lai.

Cambodian dance instructor Sopheap Chhoe of Shewsbury added a modern touch to a traditional folk dance that made teenagers in the audience nod their heads in appreciation.

“The traditional story is how the little monkeys have fun when the King of Monkeys is not around, and we added a little remix to it to make it more fun,” said Ms. Chhoe.

Fifteen-year-old Paul Tran said he started out taking dance instruction to help his mother and found he had fun hanging out with his friends, as well as learning more about his culture.

The Japanese booth presented calligraphy lessons, flower arranging and an opportunity to tie a wish to a specially decorated tree.

Tanabata, or star festival, is traditionally held in Japan during the summer. People write wishes in poetry form on small strips of paper and hang them from specially decorated bamboo branches.

The Asian Festival’s tree had such wishes as “Health and success,” “To meet one direction,” and “I wish I had a billion dollars with a dog.”

The Southeast Asian Coalition’s wish to provide a venue for Asian cultures to meet, entertain and feature their uniqueness was met with apparent success this year.

1 comment:

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