Dream Asia Food Festival showcases Asian culture in Winston-Salem
May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and a fun way to celebrate is at a food festival in Winston-Salem on Sunday, May 18.Dream Asia is one of the largest Asian food festivals in the country, and for the first time, it’s in North Carolina.“There’s just so much diversity here,” festival organizer Ben Wang said. Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking hereFrom boba tea to dumplings to Korean fried chicken, all kinds of Asian flavors can be found at the Dream Asia Food Festival.“We really want to cover all parts of Asia,” Wang said. Wang is originally from China and was inspired by the variety of street food he grew up around. He wanted to recreate that experience by hosting food festivals across the country.“We want to tell a story through the food, right? There’s just so much story to be told, to be learned from a specific type of food,” he said. “There’s always some kind of history, and also, you can see there’s some connections, some fusions among different cuisines.”Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here.One of those stories is coming from Laos and Thailand. Anora Sylapheth is the owner of Anora’s Thai/Lao Hut, which offers jumbo fried squid, fried whole fish, tornado potatoes and more. “I’m selling pad Thai, papaya salad, Lao sausage, fried chicken,” she said. “Stuff like that to showcase my culture.”Sylapheth and her family are Laotian. She says they have sold their culture’s food at festivals before, and it’s been rewarding to see people enjoy and learn more about it.“When we say, ‘Oh, papaya salad,’ they know what it is now,” she said. “And before we’re like, ‘It’s made of a papaya and fish sauce and some of that,’ but now they’re like, ‘Oh, I want papaya. I know what that is.’”Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscastsLike Anora’s Thai/Lao Hut, many of the vendors are coming from other states across the country. However, Wang says many vendors and performers are from right here in North Carolina. Wherever they come from, they are all brought together by a common love of Asian culture.“It’s like walking an Asian street, but without flying like ten hours,” Wang said.The Dream Asia Food Festival will run through Sunday from noon until 11 p.m.at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Entertainment also includes Asian cultural workshops and crafts, plus there is live music with headliner Alan Z , Vidken and Miinii and DJ Vitcon. You can learn more about the festival and buy tickets by at the gate.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |
May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and a fun way to celebrate is at a food festival in Winston-Salem on Sunday, May 18.
Dream Asia is one of the largest Asian food festivals in the country, and for the first time, it’s in North Carolina.
“There’s just so much diversity here,” festival organizer Ben Wang said.
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here
From boba tea to dumplings to Korean fried chicken, all kinds of Asian flavors can be found at the Dream Asia Food Festival.
“We really want to cover all parts of Asia,” Wang said.
Wang is originally from China and was inspired by the variety of street food he grew up around. He wanted to recreate that experience by hosting food festivals across the country.
“We want to tell a story through the food, right? There’s just so much story to be told, to be learned from a specific type of food,” he said. “There’s always some kind of history, and also, you can see there’s some connections, some fusions among different cuisines.”
Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here.
One of those stories is coming from Laos and Thailand. Anora Sylapheth is the owner of Anora’s Thai/Lao Hut, which offers jumbo fried squid, fried whole fish, tornado potatoes and more.
“I’m selling pad Thai, papaya salad, Lao sausage, fried chicken,” she said. “Stuff like that to showcase my culture.”
Sylapheth and her family are Laotian. She says they have sold their culture’s food at festivals before, and it’s been rewarding to see people enjoy and learn more about it.
“When we say, ‘Oh, papaya salad,’ they know what it is now,” she said. “And before we’re like, ‘It’s made of a papaya and fish sauce and some of that,’ but now they’re like, ‘Oh, I want papaya. I know what that is.’”
Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscasts
Like Anora’s Thai/Lao Hut, many of the vendors are coming from other states across the country. However, Wang says many vendors and performers are from right here in North Carolina. Wherever they come from, they are all brought together by a common love of Asian culture.
“It’s like walking an Asian street, but without flying like ten hours,” Wang said.
The Dream Asia Food Festival will run through Sunday from noon until 11 p.m.at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Entertainment also includes Asian cultural workshops and crafts, plus there is live music with headliner Alan Z , Vidken and Miinii and DJ Vitcon. You can learn more about the festival and buy tickets by at the gate.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |
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