Earlier this month, Highland Park High School’s Asian Culture Club hosted an event of food, fun, and culture to honor May as Asian American Pacific Islander month. The day consisted of informational presentations, a variety of ethnic dishes, and two performances from ACC members.
The presentations of the afternoon taught attendees about topics such as Lunar New Year, the Chinese language, the model minority myth, and Navruz, an Uzbek holiday. HPHS alumni Aisha Hussain came back to run a henna station, which is a form of temporary body art that uses dyes to stain the skin. Other crafts and games included a carrom board, origami, trivia, bookmark making, and chigiri-e, a form of Japanese storytelling using cut paper.
The ACC ensured that its guests didn’t go hungry. The club served bubble tea, sticky rice, noodle soup, spring rolls, egg tarts, and numerous other Asian treats for attendees to enjoy.
The afternoon’s entertainment included Amandala’s English rendition of a Thai folk song called “Shining Moon” and sophomore Yuni Lin’s dance to the K-pop song “Lalisa” by Lisa. Following her successful performance, Yuni expressed interest in rebooting the school's K-pop club.
The ACC members had been working on putting this event together since March. Similarly to their previous celebrations for Lunar New Year and Diwali, the group pooled their resources to inform the people of Highland Park about different aspects of Asian culture. According to Amy Yang, one of ACC’s officers, “We really strived to celebrate the people of Asia and represent their experiences.”
ACC officers, Siya Verma, Christina Li, and Michelle Li express gratitude to the community for celebrating AAPI month with them. They hope that in the future, the ACC can continue to recognize a variety of Asian cultural practices, traditions, and people.