Jennifer Nguyen started Garland’s Asian American Heritage Festival three years ago because she wanted to shine a light on the contributions and beauty of her community. Most importantly, Nguyen said, she wanted to highlight its diversity.
“When you talk about Asian Americans, people think about Chinese, Korean and Japanese,” Nguyen said. “With this festival, it’s an opportunity for us to open up and say, ‘No, that’s not it; there is a lot more to it.’”
Nguyen and her husband, Tom Nguyen, have been longtime advocates for the Asian community in Garland, which boasts a large Southeast Asian population. This year was the first time the annual heritage festival was held in Garland’s renovated downtown square.
Hundreds of people crowded the square Saturday afternoon, and the block rang with the cultural music, including from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam. A highlight of the festival was the lion dance, followed by firecrackers and a parade around the downtown square.
The aroma of lechón lingered in the air, while foodies lined up with anticipation at the array of vendors at the event.
The festival featured ube, a purple yam popular in Filipino cuisine.
Carrollton resident Shawn Chacko said he attended the festival with his wife, Shelby, to try the different ube-based snacks. They were not disappointed.
Chacko, who is of South Asian descent, said he recently moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area from Tennessee and has been pleased to see the region’s diversity of people, food and culture.
“I absolutely love that people from different backgrounds can come try different authentic desserts,” Chacko said. “I had a little bit of it back home, but the magnitude of it here is awesome to see.”
Christy Parra, who has lived in Garland for 18 years, said she has attended the Asian American events in North Texas before, but Saturday was the first time she attended the city’s annual festival.
Parra said she’s pleased to see different cultures celebrated and embraced by city officials.
“I grew up in Dallas, lived in Mesquite for 15 years, and we were thinking of moving to Frisco, McKinney — all those northern suburbs, but we wanted our kids to grow up in a diverse area,” Parra said.
Jimmy Tran, a member of Garland’s Community Multicultural Commission, said the festival is an opportunity for everyone to share in celebrating Asian American culture.
“To see more and more people come to the festival, and not just Asian Americans; it’s great,” Tran said. “It’s like we’re one family.”