The smell of Asian-inspired food and the sound of drums echoed through the streets as large crowds gathered to indulge in the Asian Festival on Main.
The City of Fairfax brought the community together to celebrate Asian heritage through art, food and entertainment. The event was hosted in the heart of Old Town Fairfax between Chain Bridge Road and University Drive. What was expected to be a small gathering turned into a sold out event.
“It’s insane,” said event organizer Wendy Wong. “The overwhelming amount of people that wanted to attended is shocking.”
The celebration kicked off with remarks from the city’s first Asian American elected official, Councilmember Sang Yi.
“This is the true nature of the City of Fairfax and how we celebrate our people, and the types of heritages we represent here,” Yi said. “Might be a small town, but we have a big heart. We have a big heart of a lot of people. This is our inaugural Asian festival, we’ve never had anything like it before.”
The event included family games, raffles, performances of Japanese and Hawaiian dance, and a demonstration of traditional Tai Chi Sword Fighting.
“We have representatives from lot of different Asian cultures, from China, to Vietnam and I believe we have people from Tibet and other places,” event sponsor Mike Moran said.
Through arts, crafts, entertainment and exhibits, visitors were able to learn about Asian heritage and history. The fashion show was one of the main attractions. One attendee even dressed up like her favorite Japanese “vocaloid,” Hatsune Miku.
Yi called the event a huge success, and said he hopes it will become an annual event for years to come. It was organized and sponsored by Old Town Fairfax Business Association.
