AsiaConnect’s Asian Heritage Week Celebration

Photo courtesy from Illinois State University

NORMAL, Ill.–The weekend of April 22-25 AsiaConnect at Illinois State University is holding various events in the Bloomington-Normal area to celebrate Asian Heritage Week.

The celebration starts on Friday, April 22, from 7:30pm to 9pm with a staged reading of “Dear Mr. C,” a cultural performance. This artistic performance is an autobiographical musical about a Thai immigrant who is trying to find peace in the world after having events happen that turns their life upside down. The show’s theme will be related to love, family, grief, immigration, and its connection to Thai culture.

Continuing with the celebration, on Saturday, April 23, from 10am to 2pm; there is going to be a personal artmaking demonstration and workshop that will allow the average Bloomington-Normal individual to take a stab at making Asian related artwork.

Most Asian artwork always has a personal connection to it, and the workshop hopes to emphasize that.

The biggest event AsiaConnect organized is titled the Asian Heritage Celebration which takes place at the Normal Public Library on Sunday, April 24, from 1:15pm to 4:30pm. This day will include multiple sessions that allow the public to see and immerse themselves in various Asian-related cultural activities.

In this event, you can immerse yourself in learning origami, viewing an Asian cultural showcase, visualizing henna art, doing Chinese Martial Arts, and taking part in a Chinese and Taiwanese tea tasting.

The last event is on April 25th, a Thai cuisine demonstration and workshop, where individuals get the chance to learn about Thai cuisine with a chef, how to cook it, and what makes Thai cuisine different from the typical American food. Then, directly after the demonstration, participants are provided the chance to eat the Thai cuisine.

Asian Heritage week is free and some events may include reservations beforehand.