Ni hao! Asian Cultural Festival returns to Ocoee

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Asian American Heritage Council of Central Florida will host the 14th annual Asian Cultural Festival Saturday, May 18. 

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with performances and presentations happening inside the Ocoee Lakeshore Center, 125 N. Lakeshore Drive, and a plethora of vendors scattered across the lawns of Bill Breeze Park.

AAHC’s free annual festival is a celebration of the various Asian American cultures, foods, art and people. The festival aims to highlight each and every one of the Asian ethnic groups represented in Central Florida and their unique cultures.

To accomplish that, the festival will include booths from local business vendors serving up different flavors of Asian cuisines and culturally representative crafts and merchandise, as well as performances from various groups representing their countries, such as traditional dances, skills performances, martial arts demonstrations and live music.

Beyond celebrating the culture, honoring the history and highlighting the significance of the different Asian groups in Central Florida, the Asian Cultural Festival serves to also light the path for the next generation of Asian Americans by using the proceeds from the festival to fund the AAHC Student Achievers Award Scholarship program.

The scholastic award honors and recognizes students from the third grade to high school seniors for excellence in both academics and community service. The award ceremony occurs every November and awards students in the categories of academic achievement, preservation of ethnic culture and language, and essay writing.

The AAHC of Central Florida, established in 1980 to preserve Asian Heritage and Culture and to represent the interest of diverse Asian American ethnicities, is a nonprofit umbrella organization that is made up of various Asian American member organizations.