Written by CAPA-JRC reporters Doris Wang and Andrew Dai
WASHINGTON DC The streets in front of Capitol Hill were filled with boisterous chatter and joyful music. People poured out from all sides, gathering at Pennsylvania Avenue NW on Saturday, September 2nd. The 2023 Chinese Cultural Fair was kicking off, and a large array of people had come to celebrate Chinese culture.
The Greater Washington Chinese American Community organized the event, featuring an abundance of stands that sold and showcased different facets of Chinese culture like cultural clothing, tea stations, and calligraphy demonstrations. The stands were catered to a variety of audiences, from children to senior visitors. One section of stands was occupied by food vendors, selling unique Chinese cuisine like stuffed buns, pancakes, and hand drawn soup noodles made in the style of different provinces. As a result of the hot weather, lines for bubble tea consisted of over 30 people at different points in time.
One of the ongoing attractions at the fair was the culture showcase, which included a stunning and interactive bamboo dance, an entertaining instrument showcase, a taichi demonstration, and various other performances.
Similar to the bamboo dance performance, many participants and volunteers at the cultural fair were students. These students had a variety of backgrounds, thoughts, and reasons for attending the event.
Yongle, a sophomore at Montgomery Blair High School, stated that he was there as a part of the CYOC, an organization that helps with organizing events for the Chinese community in the Washington, D.C., area. The CYOC is specifically targeted towards young people and allows them to volunteer to bring these types of events to life. “For events like these, we need to reserve areas for stalls, organize performances, handle the trash, but something CYOC does, in particular, is coordinate with the Chinese embassy in D.C. to get their support for events like these.” Yongle also stated that he enjoyed volunteering and that “just coming here and watching these performances and just eating would get boring after a while; I think it’s more interesting and fun to be working here.”
As a result of countless volunteers’ efforts, the event was largely successful, attracting over 10,000 people and showcasing Chinese culture, allowing visitors an opportunity to learn and appreciate.
This article was provided by Chinese American Parents Association Junior Reporter Club (CAPA JRC) with members who interviewed, audio recorded, wrote, translated, and video recorded. CAPA JRC has 25 Montgomery County middle to high school students. They have created a bilingual platform delivering news and serving the community.
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