A black-belt member of Miami's martial arts club took to the Uptown Park stage and threw her partner on the mat for a taekwondo demonstration. Another club member broke a thick wooden board with her elbow. K-pop and American hits alternated from speakers as crowds of students, faculty and Oxford residents roamed booths lining the park. They were all there on a Friday afternoon to celebrate Miami's fourth annual Asian Cultural Festival.
The festival was organized by the Asian American Association (AAA) and brought together eight different Asian student associations and artistic clubs such as the "DyzzeeSteppers" (Miami's street dance club) and the Japanese Cultural and Language Club. Volunteers collaborated to create booths for 11 different areas: India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Japan.
The event boasted an impressive turnout with over 100 students who came to partake in the food and activities, and learn about cultures across Asia. It provided an opportunity for international students to share their culture with others, which they did eagerly.
A Taiwanese student gave recommendations for the best bubble tea in Oxford. A girl adopted from Kazakhstan when she was five years old told the assembled people her favorite things about the country, and that she thinks it had the most beautiful flag in the world.
Chat Udomthaveedej, a sophomore from Thailand, especially enjoyed working his second festival.
"I was born and raised in Bangkok, and it's fun to be doing this, to talk about my country," he said.
People pieced together puzzles featuring the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Macau, attempted to use chopsticks to transport M&Ms from one plate to another at the Hong Kong station and aimed water guns at small toys in celebration of Thingyan, Myanmar's recent water festival. Participants also got a chance to sample Thai tea and Chinese lo mein.
A number of acts mounted the stage: First the taekwondo demonstration followed by a hip-hop dance from Fusion, AAA's multicultural dance recital, and a classic performance from the Confucius Institute dancers who wore traditional Han costumes. A Chinese rock band performed, as well as one brave international student, Clayton, who sang some of his original songs and played the guitar.
The event drew students from all different clubs and backgrounds, and managed to grab the attention of more than one passerby. First-year Zoe Bay was drawn in by a performance from Confucius Institute dancers on her way to get dinner Uptown. She stayed at the festival for a while, excited to learn about the diversity of Miami's international students.
"All the different posters are great," Bay said. "I feel like a lot of people at Miami assume that all our exchange students are from China, but they're from a bunch of different places. It's really cool."
This kind of cultural exchange is what brings many to AAA. First-year journalism student Kayla Jones joined after covering the Fusion dance recital for her introduction to journalism class earlier this year.
"The Fusion performance drew me to AAA," said Jones. "I loved it so much and it was so diverse. Even though it is the Asian American Association, it's open to everyone, and it's very inclusive. It's almost like a family."
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