Fun boils over at Rice Festival

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Rafaella Bagacay and Phoenix Boba perform a k-pop dance as a duet.

BY JAYDEN JUNAID

            The Asian American Club held its annual Rice Festival on Friday, November 4. At the vibrant, multicultural event, students celebrated every culture in the Asian diaspora. People ate food from many different countries such as China, Vietnam, Korea, and India.

            The Rice Festival came from a cultural connection over food. “Rice is a staple in many Asian cultures and is a wonderful way to share our own cultures through unique ethnic dishes,” said Ashley Chen, Co-President of Asian American Club. 

            Multiple different activities took place at the festival, such as song guessing games, photobooths, and henna. “Henna is such a beautiful art form. It was so nerve wracking,” said Haya Awad, one of the volunteers executing intricate designs on rice festival goers. “I did not want to mess up.”

Yash Agrawal, Priyam Tiwari, Romari Ebuen, and Kavia Shah serve food to festival goers.

            Along with henna and the other games, the K-POP (Korean pop) and Bollywood dance groups performed for the crowd. “I thought it was very entertaining,” said Ritee Karmacharya. “Everyone was very coordinated and looked really nice. Soham Agrawal choreographed for the Bollywood dance team, and they did so good.” 

            All performers put in a lot of work to perfect their craft. Bollywood, specifically, involves a lot of challenging choreography. Freshman Ishana Jain shared, “We practiced so much it was tedious, but all our hard work paid off.” 

            Along with Bollywood, the K-pop dance team performed three dances, two group performances and a duet. Rafaella Bagacay, a junior who participated in all three routines, expressed, “I was definitely anxious, but the second I started dancing, it just felt so natural.” 

Aaron Bain and Patrick Chuah talk while enjoying their food from the Rice Festival.

            Although many different types of rice were featured, rice was not the only food served at the festival. They had a variety of Asian cuisines such as kimchi, vegetable stir fry noodles, cream cheese rangoons, and spring rolls. “A highlight was definitely the food, especially since it was homemade,” freshman Alana Phillips divulged.

            The rice festival is a great way to experience Asian culture through food and fun performances. Senior Riya Savalia said, “We wanted a way for all people to express their cultures and share it with the people around them.”  

  • Rafaella Bagacay, Tiffany Yang, and Kaitlyn Liu dance to k-pop music in unison.
  • Kaitlyn Liu, Rafaella Bagacay, Tiffany Yang and Ashley Chen form a heart pose near the end out their routine.

Posted on 11/28/22

Photos by Jayden Junaid

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