CAF3 was a success!

The 3rd annual Cleveland Asian Festival ended with a bang with more than 42,240 people attending on Saturday and Sunday of May 19-20, 2012. They enjoyed the festival and its beautiful weekend weather along with several other events downtown.

Attendees enjoyed over 40 performances from local, regional, and national performing groups including this year’s headliner, MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew: Instant Noodles. Marine Brigadier General Daniel Yoo graced the stage and provided an opening remark. Many enjoyed Asian cuisine from over 20 different restaurants throughout the day. The success of the festival caused several food vendors to sell out and close early. The World Market was filled with merchants of Asian themed products while sponsors had informational displays at their tent.

The Health Pavilion was busy with people waiting for free screenings, information, and advice on their health. The children activities area was filled with laughter in the “bounce house” and inflatable sumo wrestling area. They played Dance Dance Revolution and grooved on the X-Box Kinect while enjoying many other games.

The Lolly the Trolley tour was a hit once again. Attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the history and different businesses of the AsiaTown neighborhood. Those who were brave and hungry enough to enter into sushi wasabi roll and egg roll eating competitions walked away with some great prizes. It was a delightful event.

We were excited to have some great TV personalities who helped emcee along with our CAF members. They engaged the audience and made them a part of the performances as they participated and cheered.

The Cleveland Asian Festival has continued to become the fastest growing festival in Northeast Ohio. Many groups came from surrounding cities such as Columbus, Pittsburgh, or Akron, while a few came as far as New York, Florida, and even Italy. Surveys were conducted at the festival with results proving that not only it helps shape AsiaTown, but it brought an economic boost to the area, as well.

We thank you for your patronage and supporting the festival. A special shout out to the 190+ volunteers that worked nonstop to make it possible, the committee chairs and their members who made sure all logistics were covered, the safety personnel that helped it a very safe environment, and the sponsors who believe in our efforts and mission statement… You are the ones who made this successful. On behalf of Cleveland Asian Festival’s Executive Committee Chairs, we thank you!

Now what?