Advertised as "Night Market," the three-hour event was a collaborative project presented by the Asian Students Association (ASA), the China Awareness Organization (CAO), the Korean Students Association (KSA), the South Asian Students Association (SASA) and the Vietnamese Students Association (VSA).
The various stands featured dishes from a variety of Asian cultures. At one stand, one could order some dim sum; at another, students feasted upon egg rolls and spring rolls. Students lined up for a refreshing cup of bubble tea or a mango lassi. Many topped off their night with a serving of green tea and mango ice cream.
When not scarfing down Asian delights, students tried their hand at some target practice with BBs of boba from their tea, or challenged their friends to a game of chopsticks. Others danced the night away at the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) booth while their fellows attempted to net some fish from a kiddie pool. The event also featured several arts and crafts booths. Students waited their turn at a booth near Chapin Hall for a chance to try their hand at Chinese knotting or to receive a stylish henna tattoo. Many watched as members of the CAO and ASA scribed Chinese names for them in calligraphy.
There were also a series of performances throughout the duration of the Night Market. The Springfield Lion Dancers kicked off the event with a romp around the market in their two-man lion costumes, accompanied by a masked Buddha and drums. Lucy Zhou '10, Kirsten Dier '10, Maikha Jean-Baptiste '10 and Pallabi Guha '10 followed their act with a Chori pe Chori dance, which proved widely popular with the audience. Later in the evening, the audience was treated to a reading by Phuong Vuong '09 of "Mass Transit," a poem by Bao Phi, winner of two Minnesota Grand Poetry Slams. Felice Ling '10 dazzled the audience with an incredible display of magic.
Chair of ASA Vicky Chau commented on the ideas and planning behind the Night Market. "We wanted to involve the community more and have an event where people could participate in a part of the culture," she said. "Night markets are actually a really popular part of night life in places like Hong Kong and Taipei, so it was a fusion of modern Asian culture with traditional elements."
For Chau, and all the organizations and members involved, the night was a great success. "People gave us great feedback and their enthusiasm really got us excited about possibly doing this again next year," Chau commented. "We started to talk about what to change for 'next time' right after we finished clean-up! Everyone's positive reactions made all the work worth it ... although we'd definitely need more help next year."
But Night Market was more than just fun and games. Not only did the event help the various Asian student groups build a sense of community, all the proceeds from the event, collected in the form of donations and from its raffle, went to THiNK (Towards Humanitarianism In North Korea) in order to support NGOs and other organizations working to help North Korean refugees. The event raised over $600 for the organization.