BY AASMAA DAMANI
On May 23, the Asian-American Club and the Chinese Club hosted the Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Heritage Fair. The event, held in the school cafeteria, showcased many diverse cultures through music, food, boba, and informational stalls about the peoples and their history.
About 100 people attended the event. “I am incredibly happy with the number of people who attended,” said Anika Dugal. “We had a great turnout.”
Many members of the Asian American Club set up booths and stalls. “I’m a part of Asian American Club’s K-pop team, which set up a recruitment stall with a tag game, instant ramen, and Hello Koala snacks,” said Adrianna Hui.
“For the Philippines stand, I liked the game where you had to throw slippers at the cups, and I liked the food they brought (Biko). For K-pop, I liked the board they made and the ramen they had,” said Snighda Kandula. The K–pop stand also had bubble tea from Kung Fu Tea.
Kaavya Sheth set up a Bubble Tea stall at the event. “It was so much fun and hectic to run the bubble tea station. We ran out of ingredients fast because a lot of people liked it and came back for more. We had a big turnout so many people only got bubble tea one time and even some board members did not get to try some,” said Sheth.
The event included booths of diverse cultures made by students. “My favorite booth was the one on Vietnamese culture! I liked that it covered a wide range of information about Vietnam, from clothing styles to world heritage sites. Also, the board, which was made by Phoenix Boba, was beautifully put together and very visually appealing,” said Dugal.
Students found the displays at the different stands informative and interesting. “I liked learning about Japan. This country has an interesting history and appealing cuisine,” said Amisha DeSilva.
A professional sushi chef demonstrated how to make sushi live at the event. “He made a variety of sushi, from tempura rolls to eel and avocado sushi. It was cool watching him take everyday ingredients and craft them into delicious sushi,” said Dugal.
The sushi was the most popular food at the event. “The vegetable sushi tasted amazing. The chef knows what he is doing. The sushi tasted so fresh, and I wished I could have eaten more of it,” said Sheth.
The success of the first AAPI Heritage Fair will likely make it an annual occurrence. “This is only our second year running the Asian-American Pacific Islander Festival, but I have a feeling it will be a recurring event at OBHS for years to come,” said Dugal.
Posted on 6/11/24
Photos by Aasmaa Damani
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