APSA’s Night Market

This year marks APSA’s second annual Night Market since COVID-19, and it surely did not disappoint! Occuring last Saturday at the Trabant MPRs, the event lasted from 9pm-1am and was filled with dance performances, cultural activities, and so much more. Meant as a night to celebrate and appreciate APIDA culture, performances ranged from traditional to modern. Food was also free and provided by UD catering. The menu also included cultural foods such as: chicken satay to represent Indonesia, pad thai to represent Thailand, and jalebi, a dessert that originates from India. What I love most about this event, however, is the fact that it gathers a number of APIDA organizations from the University of Delaware to spend one short night together to celebrate what makes each of the RSO’s so unique!

Traditionally, a Night Market is a street fair held at nighttime filled with food stalls, vendors, and performances. Anyone who has ever gotten to enjoy one knows how exciting a Night Market is. APSA seeks to recreate this environment by having the APIDA RSO’s host tables to talk about the organization, while providing participants with cultural activities to help them learn a bit more about their respective heritage and culture. RSO groups in attendance included: VSA, FSA, ISA, GSUD, JCLC, AAPC, and SASE. Each table was run by members of their respective executive board. Additionally, APSA invited a Chinese sugar artist and two henna artists to come and sell their crafts to the audience. Henna and the chinese sugar art were $5 each and was surely a popular site for everyone. Walking around, it was so fun to see everyone showing off their new henna and sugar art! However, what made people stay were surely the performances that occurred throughout the night.

 There were 9 groups in total that performed: Chinese American Community Center, Satvika + Linh, Temple Thalaam, PAYAD, Isodynamic, Danny Hang, Dragonfly, KODAK, and VSA. The night opened with traditional folk dances from the Chinese American community Center and ended with  VSA’s  Ca Phe dance. Additionally, we even had a visit from Temple Thalaam, an Indian classical dance team from Temple University! All the performers gave it their all and the crowd absolutely loved them. Everyone respected each other and got to see traditional dances that they might have never seen before! The crowd especially enjoyed KODAK and Dragonfly when they brought kpop to the stage, a taste of modern dance and pop culture that brought infectious enthusiasm. 

All in all, APSA’s Night Market was an amazing experience that brought together the APIDA organizations at the University of Delaware. Aside from involvement fairs and collabs between a couple organizations, it is rare to see so many APIDA RSO’s  and general body members gathered together in one place. It was a night filled with fun, music, and great memories!