1. Eat
The food at the Asian Festival is absolutely fantastic and incredibly diverse. The only thing you may have trouble with is trying to decide which vendor to start with first!From the website:Come sample the finest appetizers of Indonesian sate skewers, Chinese spicy home style noodles, and other dishes from the Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnam and Indian cultures.
Visit some of the Asian Festival vendors year-round at North Market!
2. 2012 Asian Festival Junior Table Tennis Tournament
Table tennis is no game when it comes to these champions. Check out the Junior Table Tennis tourney during the festival. Most of the participants are from the community and the players are true students of the game. If you love competition, you have to check this out!Saturday May 26, 2012, 10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Franklin Park Conservatory
1777 East Broad St. Columbus, Oh
Don't miss these unique galleries and museums in Columbus, Ohio.
3. Culture Exhibits
One of the biggest draws to the Asian Festival - besides the food - are the culture exhibits. Performers from around the world come to Columbus to perform exhibition performances that include traditional dance and musical performances as well as martial arts performances.Additional exhibits include wonderful displays of art using a variety of mediums and perspectives. The beautiful or dramatic music changes as you move throughout the festival with both indoor and outdoor performances, many powerful enough to stop you in your tracks as pass by.
Don't miss my list of public area golf courses in Columbus!
4. Dragon Boat Racing
On May 28th, the dragon boats set sail from Genoa Park. It's an exciting race where skill and heart can easily beat muscle. People love watching the sleek, decorative boats zoom through the water.From the website:A dragon boat is a twenty foot canoe with a decorative dragonhead on the front and a tail on the back. A drummer sits facing the paddlers and directs them with the beat of the drum. A steersman stands in the rear and guides the boat with a long, wooden oar. The paddlers sit two by two on ten benches. These individuals paddle the stroke in unison to fly the dragon across the water. It is this synchronicity that is the key to racing. Dragon boat racing is as amazing to be a part of as it is to watch.
Don't miss my Thurman Cafe review. Great place to grab a meal after the race.
5. Shop
As tempting as it is to spend all of your money on the delicious food vendors, it's important to save a little (or a lot) of cash for the marketplace vendors. Rows and rows of vendors greet festival goers with an almost random assortment of items for sale.Traditional clothing from asian countries share space with "designer-like sunglass" salespersons. You can't go more than two feet without seeing a box of paper umbrellas in every color of the rainbow.
It's not just kitchy touristy items available - there are truly talented artists whose mediums go beyond paints to jewelry and clothing. Buy an umbrella to keep back the sun and take time to stroll through so you don't miss any real gems!
