Every year in the springtime, over 10,000 people from all across the Bay Area get the chance to experience a little bit of Taiwan at the annual Taiwanese American Cultural Festival in Union Square, which took place this year on May 9, 2015. It brought a little bit of “Taiwan Soul” to our foggy city.
Check out our interview with this year’s Cultural Festival Co-Directors, Christina Yu from TACL-LYF and Vicky Chung from TAP-SF.
Q: What do you think makes the Cultural Festival so special every year?
Christina: The Cultural Festival really bridges the generations moreso than any other event, as this is when first generation and second generation Taiwanese Americans bond over the pride we have for Taiwan. It is the time when the Taiwanese community comes together to spotlight the beautiful island of Taiwan, its culture and its people through spectacular performances to delicious food to fun activities for all ages. I mean, how can one say no to Taiwanese delicacies like minced pork over rice (滷肉飯), Taiwanese sausage and desserts like bubble tea and shaved ice.
TACL Family represent! Alex Shih, TAP-NY President, flew to SF to attend the Festival.
Q: What was the theme this year and why is it so meaningful?
Christina: The theme for this year’s Cultural Festival is “Taiwan Soul”. When talking about Taiwan to non-Taiwanese or even Taiwanese Americans friends, we realized that most people knew little about Taiwan other than its food, night markets, and bargain shopping. While those are great, my Festival Co-Director and I decided that on top of knowing that Taipei 101 is one of the tallest buildings in the world and that delicious bubble tea is from Taiwan, we wanted people to dig a little deeper into our culture and our identity.
Vicky: Right, so as the team was brainstorming themes for this year’s festival, one recurring aspect of Taiwanese culture that we all wanted to convey to the greater Bay Area community was our passion for our heritage and identity. We were using the phrase “精神 (jīngshén)” a lot and felt that “Taiwan Soul” best embodies this sentiment. We wanted to show people that our common thread was our Taiwanese passion and fire that burns within all of us in everything that we do, and that is our “Taiwan Soul.”
Members of the Festival Team cheese for the camera to celebrate their success!
Q: What is your favorite memory from this year’s event?
Christina: Every moment was a favorite memory! Hahaha. I think seeing how dedicated the Festival Team was over the course of our planning process was very moving for me. From the kick-off meeting to the day of the Festival, each team member worked above and beyond. Keep in mind, all the volunteers had a full-time job too! It was touching to see the level of everyone’s passion and drive in wanting to put together an amazing Festival.
I guess seeing the outcome of everyone’s hard work come together on the day of the Festival also jumps out at me. Being on the Festival Team, you see everything from set-up to tear-down. You see everyone’s hard work in the past months finally displayed and all I can say is, it was so inspiring and a mixed bag of emotions. As Festival Co-Director, I could not have carried out this feat without the help of my awesome Co-Director and the amazing Festival Team. To the Festival Team, I admire your passion and dedication and thank you for joining me in putting on a fantastic Cultural Festival. I’m so proud of what we have accomplished. Taiwan Soul!
Vicky: I loved that this year we focused on infusing more traditional and nostalgic elements of Taiwanese culture into our activities and performances, even moreso than previous years. For example, we included old-school night market games and many performances that included Taiwanese folk songs. Bringing some (sexy?) history back.
Another big highlight for me this year was seeing people from other TAP chapters come out and support, like JC from TAP-LA and Alex from TAP-NY. Love the TACL family!
The amazing Festival Co-Directors, Vicky Chung from TAP-SF and Christina Yu from TACL-LYF.
Q: For people who want to get involved in the future, where do they start?
Vicky: Generally, planning for the Festival kicks off with assembling the team (including team leads and committees) around late fall or early winter. People who are interested in getting involved can contact the Cultural Festival Director via the TAP-SF website.
People who would like to volunteer on the day-of should definitely “like” our official Facebook page so they can receive updates when the volunteer sign-ups open. They can also check out our official website for information.