For years, Asian Americans used local festivals as a tool to promote their culture, sharing traditional art, performances, and cuisine. Across the United States, local festivals serve as a connect between Asian culture and diverse audiences. These festivals not only encouraged the promotion of culture but also the protection of it. For many, festivals are a way to express their culture in ways that they couldn’t imagine possible.
North Carolina’s local Spring Daze has, for its 32 years, been a way Cary residents have experienced diverse Asian American cultures. Spring Daze is an arts festival aimed at promoting artwork from around the globe. Multiple vendors showcased handmade crafts, while others engaged visitors at informational booths, offering insight into their cultures and community initiatives. These informational booths include HUMSUB to Asian Focus, local organizations have played a vital role in bringing cultural diversity to the triangle area. The thousands of attendees who arrived played Carrom at the HUMSUB table while learning about the Dragon Boat festival at the Asian Focus table.
In our interview with Sachin Joshi, the president of HUMSUB emphasized the importance of these festivals, saying, “We share Indian culture through our performances: dance, music, and other exhibitions.”
Another interviewee said they had been coming to this festival ever since they were a child and noticed multiple changes in cultural diversity. They commented on the many vendors selling beautiful and cultural art pieces.
The Spring Daze festival is a reminder of how cultural diversity can enhance local arts. These festivals promote not only art, but cultures, cultures many have fought to keep.
