My Weekend at the Asian Food Fest

The weekend of May 19th (and 20th) was a rather chaotic stretch for me.  My Saturday started with the annual Walk for Angelman Syndrome down at Theodore Berry Friendship Park. I have a personal connection to the cause, so I make sure to take part every year.
*As a side note, this is also the same day/time as the Autism Speaks walk.  Again, I have a personal connection to Autism as well.  It would be helpful if organizations could discuss their nationwide schedules and not schedule all of it on one day at one time.  In my case, they’d have a few more walkers/participants in each event if they could stagger a little.  That’s just IMO.  Anyway….

So, directly following the walk, I headed straight to The Banks for the Third Annual Asian Food Fest.  I volunteered to co-photograph the entire weekend’s events (that would be 12+ hours/day) alongside fellow photog, Steven Kohus.  A good friend of mine (and fellow Kings High School alumni) was chair person, so there was no way that I wasn’t going to be there to support her and enjoy all of the festivities!

If you didn’t make it down, I hope that browsing through the images and clicking some of those links will inspire you for next year’s event!  Of course you don’t need to wait a full year to get access to such awesome foods and amazing performances.  Most of the vendors and guests are local, and very accessible.

As you continue through my post, you will notice that along with an enormous amount of photos,  this is one very large endorsement of the Asian Food Fest and it’s vendors/performers. I had a great time and enjoyed the food, the people and the performances, so why would I not want to share all of the goodies?!

Without further adieu, I give you The Third Annual Asian Food Fest, May 19th & 20th, 2012:Akido demonstrations over both daysAndrea Pham, singer/songwriter performed both days
(notice her set list on the wrist)    Richard Kok, returned to his hometown for a performance on SaturdayIn between all of the performances, guests were entertained by a DJ that I swear must’ve tapped into my 90’s skating soundtrack.  So Awesome!What food fest would be complete without THE FOOD!
Please follow to the bottom of the post for ALL of the food links!These women looked gorgeous in their wardrobe for a Balinese DanceI am a total sucker for kids, so of course I had a blast watching and photographing these girls’ performances!  There were several performances that came from Bing Yang over a two-day span and these are some of the highlights. And, speaking of crowds… Kawaiian/Polynesian dancers + 90 degree weather + 100% sunshine = A-L-O-H-AThese next two performances were AWESOME and yet I unfortunately have no information to provide just yet. 😦  As soon as I get my T’s crossed and my I’s dotted, I will update the information so that you can learn more about these two groups!The Fantastronauts were the final performers on Saturday and they played until the sun gave up.The closing of Day 1 came with a BANG! Fireworks by Arthur Rozzi Pyrotechnics

Day 2 brought back all of the great food, vendors, and performances, PLUS Jenga!Olivia Frances started the performances on Day 2 of the food festivalOne of THE most high energy, entertaining performances of the weekend came from the Gujj Di Jawani High School Bhangra Group of Cincinnati. Notice the bare feet on the extremely overheated concrete. To see a video of the (indoor) performance click here.Can’t leave out any of the non-edible vendors that participated in the weekend’s events!
Please head to the bottom of the post for a complete vendor listing with links!Yayoi Renfro sang and performed on both days of the Asian Food Fest.The Sakura Ladies Chorus performed on Sunday afternoon. They will also be performing at the World Choir Games this Summer, so if you will be attending the event, make sure to check these women out!Bright Eye Youth took to the stage over the dinner rush on Sunday.Bing Yang returned with her dancers to perform again on Sunday evening.The Lanky Talls capped the evening and closed the event with their second performance of the weekendAnd of course this entire event would be nothing if it wasn’t for the VOLUNTEERS!  They fixed things, tossed things, cleaned things, served things, sold things, played things, donated things, etc, etc, etc. They set it up, ran it, and tore it back down over a 3 day period. And let me remind you if you’ve forgotten: in 90+ degree, sunshiny weather. At the mercy of sunburns and heat exhaustion. I should know, I took some of that fun home with me too! So a HUGE “Thanks Again!” to all of those green-shirted, sun-burned, sweat-dripping volunteers that called The Banks home for an entire weekend.
You were crazy-awesome!

Here’s the BIG list:

FOOD
Budina’s Pan Asian Cuisine  9114 West Chester Towne Center Dr West Chester, OH 45069
Care2share
Curries (aka Sankalp)
Green Papaya  2942 Wasson Rd Cincinnati, OH 45209
The House of Sate
Kurrylicious
Mapi’s Barbequehan
Pho Lang Thang  114 W. Elder St Cincinnati, OH 45202
Quán Hapa
Saigon Café  3672 Erie Ave Cincinnati, OH 45208
Streetpops  1437 Main St Cincinnati, OH 45202
Suzie Wong’s 1544 Madison Rd Cincinnati, OH 45206
Tea n’ Bowl 211 W McMillan St Cincinnati, OH 45219

OTHER VENDORS
ACA-Asian Community Alliance, Inc.
Art Versatile & Indian Bazaar
Care2Share
Colonel De Gourmet Herbs & Spices Historic Findlay Market 1801 Race Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Forever Well Centre
GLSEN
Kids Kloset 835 Monmouth Street Newport, KY 41071
Mid-American Financial Group, Inc.
St Elizabeth Healthcare
United Way
Yelp

Asian Food Fest, LLC. was created to bring the various Asian communities and vendors together in the Greater Cincinnati area to promote diversity through Asian food and culture.  Please visit their website for more information. Also, feel free to LIKE them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter to stay updated on any upcoming events!  Remember that Asian BBQ Cook-Off post a few months back?  That’s them.  Trust me, if you like good food, you want these updates!

Sorry for all of my hyper-link happiness, but what kind of person would I be if I just typed an experience and provided no help in guiding you through similar possibilities?