Late afternoon Saturday, Feb. 16, the club members of Asian Culture Club (ACC) lethargically came home after a day of mesmerizing experiences. This year, the club ventured to the annual Texas Lunar Festival at Amity Park to celebrate the turn of the Lunar New Year’s the Year of the Snake.

Along with bustling food vendors and activity booths, the festival entertained with a series of shows featuring local acts and their tribute to Asian culture and a medley of other cultures as well.

“This festival not only included the traditional performance of Chinese dances and martial arts, but African, Brazilian, Filipino, and Hawaiian dances,” said ACC President Crystal Nguyen, a senior.

The back-to-back shows had everything–from music and dancing to fashion shows and martial arts performances.

Elaine Nguyen, a junior and the Historian of ACC, was taken with the festival. “The amazing dances, extravagant fashion pieces, and powerful martial arts were a must-see. We [also] spent most of the time lining up for booths to get free stuff!”

The field trip was a chance to immerse the club members into a new culture different from their own.

“As president of the club, I was glad I succeed in sharing with the members a cultural experience they won’t forget. Some of them even tried new foods and drinks they never experience before!” said Crystal.

The festival was also a chance to bond and “hang out with friends to share and learn about the Asian culture during the Lunar New Year,” according to Elaine. “We met interesting people and other students from neighboring schools, and we all got along so well.”

For the ACC President who is about to graduate, “it was another successful field trip” that she will miss not being a part of next year.