Milwaukee residents and those from around the Midwest and elsewhere got to experience everything from Bollywood to Beijing at the Asia Fest of Milwaukee annual extravaganza on the scenic and trendy Milwaukee’s lakefront July 11 and 12.
The organizing team included Rina Modak, Karmen Kron, Subhendu Modak, and John Kettler under the banner of Ocean Breeze Entertainment, but mainly a collaborative effort by many organizations and communities. Cultures from 15 different Asian countries were represented by people from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Florida and Minnesota.
Samantha Fairuz kicked off the event and the national anthem was sung by an Indian-American 9-year old Senria Nath, winner of the Chicago Indian Icon award for 2013. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett recognized the large Asian population of Milwaukee and welcomed all who came.
“Welcome to City of Festivals and Milwaukee’s beautiful Lake front,” said Mayor Barrett adding, “I have been tempted to rename this street to International Avenue because it reflects the true diversity we have in our city.”
India, China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Laos, South Korea, and many more nationalities were represented in the cultural performances. Kid’s workshops, arts, crafts, a magic show and more made it a perfect venue to bring kids. Highlights included world famous Bollywood Disco King Bappi Lahiri from India, as well as Bharat Natyam dancers, Shompreeti Rahman from Bangladesh, Safar Dancers, Trisha Dancers, sitar by Ariba Khan & Group, Sri Lankan performance by Nimesha & Group, Bengali and Nepali dancers, the Punjabi Giddha and Bhangra, as well as several Southeast Asian and Far Eastern cultural performances. Shefali Vallecha was master of ceremonies for the Bappi Lahiri show and organized the Indian Fashion Show.
A portion of the proceeds from the festival will be donated to the Nepal Earthquake Relief fund, the ALS Association Wisconsin Chapter and other selected non-profit organizations, Asian Media USA reported.
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