30th Annual Chinese Culture and Cuisine Festival in Phoenix
February 21, 2020
Phoenix Chinese Week celebrated its 30th anniversary of the Chinese Culture and Cuisine Festival on Feb. 7 – 9 at Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix.
Thousands of visitors attended the event which featured educational ethnic activities pertaining to the culture of China.
The Culture and History Village showcased over 5,000 years of Chinese culture.
Hands on cooking demonstrations, art exhibits, Chinese inventions, history and maps, Traditional Chinese Medicine and ancient healing methods were some of the displayed items.
Additional exhibits included pools filled with swimming Koi of all sizes, Mahjong, chopstick challenge, a Taipei dragon boat, and a Chinese costume photo booth.
Children’s activities included an arts and crafts pavilion, rides and Chinese yo-yo demonstrations.
Northeast Valley News spoke with Brianna Luna, Gilbert, Arizona resident, who came to enjoy the Chinese New Year Festival.
“There’s really good performances and my son is enjoying the bouncy houses and the food. It’s a nice day and it’s been fun being here.” Luna said.
Vendors offered a variety of Chinese goods such as bonsai trees, clothing, jewelry, and trinkets.
The food court vendors served an assortment of dishes including authentic Chinese food such as egg rolls, noodle dishes, steamed dumplings, beignets, fry bread, and much more.
Each day, on stage entertainment featured continuous cultural performances of Chinese Folk dancers, Chinese songs and music, dragon and lion dances, martial arts demonstrations, and more.
Northeast Valley News spoke with Meng Ansley, a volunteer with Phoenix Chinese Week Committee who helps promote the festival.
Ansley expressed her excitement over the diverse crowd attending and all of the weekend’s events.
“It’s for the whole family. Everybody can find a little something to do here whether they watch the shows or they are eating, they are at the beer garden, or they are just browsing. And a lot of our vendors, they have little souvenirs so they are not expensive so people can pick something like a cute hat, a little kimono, a fan something and they can walk away and feel like this is a wonderful day that they came and enjoyed,” Ansley said.
