APASA Night Market 2022: Plant Your Roots! 🌱

APASA’s annual Night Market, as told from the perspective of Lisa Ly, one of our Co-Internal Community Chairs, and Ryan Sung, one of our APASA interns. 

As a new freshman at USC, this was my [Ryan’s] first time attending APASA’s annual Night Market, the biggest event of the year! And for me [Lisa], it was my last Night Market as a graduating senior :’). Nevertheless, the dynamic and high-spirited energy of Night Market marked an unforgettable experience for both of us. 

This year’s Night Market theme was “Plant Your Roots”. Yusuf, our Programming Director who led this event this year, wanted to open a space for the APIDA community to plant their roots in heritage and showcase their vibrancies on USC’s campus. It was also an opportunity for others to learn more about and grow closer to the array of cultures that color our local community. 

After months of coordinating with numerous member and community organizations, working with local food vendors, resolving changes in budget and other restrictions, and even rescheduling the event date multiple times (thank you Yusuf and our directors for going through all of this), it was finally time. With McCarthy Quad decked out in activity and game booths and warmed by tasty foods, lively music, and enchanting performances, let us dive in and recall some of the highlights this year ♡

Before Night Market could even be Night Market, we had to set up. With help from APASA’s entire E-Board and intern class, prizes were laid out, booths were prepared, and the stage was set. For food, we invited Bombay Frankie for their delicious chicken tikka masala and chana masala, Salaya for their fragrant pineapple fried rice, and Dollar Hits for their hearty chicken and pork skewers that we just couldn’t get enough of. For dessert, Fantastic Donuts came through again with their iconic APASA and animal donuts (super cute!) and Bombay Frankie topped it off with their golden mango lassi. Just reciting the menu again makes us crave these yummy bites and salivate. 

While Lisa was stuck handing out prizes all night, I [Ryan] was in charge of handling Night Market performances and ensuring that the overall musical atmosphere was Hype (Boy by NewJeans, iykyk). I got to meet a lot of the performers, with some of my favorites being SpadeA’s K-Pop covers, Chaotic3’s dance set, and the Kung Fu Club’s exhilarating performance. The crowd was constantly roaring with excitement and it was just a rewarding experience to be a part of it all. 

At the prize booth, I [Lisa] was oogling at all the adorable and amazing prizes from the cutest pancake Squishmallow to beautiful Studio Ghibli postcards. One of the best prizes that I kept recommending to attendees was the Nayad Water Bottle for only 15 tickets (!!). Whether it was steady gains by playing Genki Forest Knockdown at CASA and APIDA history trivia at SCAPE, or gambling it all in Bầu cua cá cọp at VSA and 魚蝦蟹 at HKSA, everyone was hyper focused on strategically winning tickets to take home a prize to remember Night Market by. The way they cheered for wins and cried at loss, I knew they were truly enjoying each booth as they traveled down the quad. Not to mention the big Hello Kitty Squishmallow raffle, available only to those who persevered and made it to every booth. Congratulations to our lucky winner!

Just before the night ended, night market goers posed with their friends at the photo booth, capturing the bright laughter and smiles amidst the string lights and colorful ambiance of this year’s Night Market. Kind of wild how one night can bring us all together. 

Once again, special thanks to the greatest programming director we could ask for, Yusuf, and our wonderful directors Emma, Sophia, and Minah!! Also another thanks for all of the member orgs, performers, community orgs, and food vendors that were able to attend this year’s event! This event would not have been possible without any of you!!

We hope to see you all again next school year for another Night Market!! Until next time :)

XOXO, 

Lisa and Ryan ♡