The 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival was a rousing success. Almost 50,000 people attended the annual 2 day festival that included performances, food, cultural displays, health screenings, games, kids and family activities and more.
There were traditional and modern performances on two stages. There was something for everyone. Younger people really liked the Asian Pop Dance Competition. Plenty of martial arts on the second stage. And so on.
On Saturday, MC Wayne Wong welcomed the crowd and introduced the traditional opening act of the Festival - the Kwan Family Lion Dance.
Wayne Wong
Kwan Family Lion Dance at Cleveland Asian Festival
Next, the event co-producers and executive board were introduced by MC Wayne Wong at the annual Cleveland Asian Festival on Saturday May 18, 2024. First were co-producers
Lisa Wong and Johnny Wu and then executive committee members Vi Huynh, Michael Mendoza, Oanh Powell, Karis Tzeng and Gabriel Kramer. Debbie Yue was there on Sunday.
CAF Executive Board on Sunday Wayne Wong, Lisa Wong, Vi Huynh, Mike Mendoza, Johnny Wu, Oanh Loi-Powell, Gabriel Kramer (not in photo Karis Tzeng)
MC Wayne Wong then introduced several VIPs who gave their welcoming remarks.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb
Brunswick Mayor Ron Falconi with Vi Huynh
Garfield Hts Mayor Matt Burke
Ward 7 Cleveland Councilwoman Stephanie Howse
Watch a video of the Saturday welcome and the VIPs.
The 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival had a record number of restaurants, food trucks and other food providers. There was also a new component of the 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival - The Food Awards!
One of the highlights was the Trivia Contest. One of the teams consisted of 3 mascots: CAF Panda, Lao Hu the Tiger and Wu Shu the Dragon. MC Gabriel Kramer asked the questions and the 3 mascots had some hilarious (but wrong) answers. Watch.
Gabriel Kramer and CAF Panda, Lao Hu the Tiger and Wu Shu the Dragon
Steve Zilber, president of the Cleveland Go Club told us about the game of Go which dates back 3-4000 years. Originating in China, the game of Go moved to Japan and other countries. There are white or black stones - all have the same "powers". Steve said the game scales well so they have a 9x9 board, 13x13 and 19x19 which experts like him play on. Steve and the Cleveland Go Club were at the 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival inside Asia Plaza and playing and teaching the game of Go.
A musician from the Five Lakes Chinese Music Ensemble performed a traditional Chinese song on the flute at the 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival. Here is part of his performance.
And so much more!
The event would not be possible without the large number of volunteers.
It was a terrific event. Kudos to co-producers Johnny Wu and Lisa Wong and all the volunteers. Be sure to come back to AsiaTown often to enjoy the food, shopping and history.
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