Hundreds of students crowded into Gator Wesley to grab free Asian cuisine like bulgogi and kampoogi for the 25th annual food festival Monday night.
The food festival was part of the annual Asian Kaleidoscope Month, a celebration hosted by the Asian American Student Union, said JJ Villanueva, a 20-year-old UF political science sophomore.
This year’s Asian Kaleidoscope Month theme is “reflect,” Villanueva said. The theme of the food festival was “savor.” Attendees were encouraged to sit down at some of the chairs spread throughout the room and experience their food instead of quickly guzzling it down.
“It’s a really big anniversary so that’s why I think this year’s theme is reflect, because we’re looking back at the others that paved the way before us,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva and Ben Ingham, a UF statistics junior, helped organized the $4,500 event. Villanueva said the point of the festival was to experience culture while still having a good time in a relaxed environment.
“Asian Kaleidoscope Month is meant to bring all the organizations within the AASU together to celebrate how Asian cultures are similar and also how we’re also different.” Villanueva said. “Food fest is one of the best ways to showcase that.”
Different sub-organizations within AASU provided the food at the festival. Instead of making food from scratch, the organizations catered food from restaurants that represented their culture.
Sherry Kao, a UF biology sophomore and member of the Korean Undergraduate Student Association, served bulgogi, a marinated stir-fry beef, and kampoogi, an eggplant dish.
“It was great to promote Asian American awareness through food and fun activities,” the 19-year-old said.
