APASA Night Market 2025!

By Interns Jonathan Le & Josh Kim

December 4th, 2025 | 7:00PM - 9:00PM | McCarthy Quad | Hosted by: John Park, APASA Programming Director

As one of our largest programming events of the year, APASA hosts its annual Night Market at USC’s McCarthy Quad for an unforgettable night of amazing cultural foods, live performances, and local vendors from APASA’s 37+ member organizations and external partners & performers. It aims to pay homage to the well-known and vibrant night markets and culture present in various APIDA cultures across Southeast and East Asia. 

Our vendors this year included: Emporium Thai, Dollar Hits, Nong La, Vietnamese Cafe, LA Rose Cafe, and Urban Masala. With a wide variety of different cultures, our vendors from the Los Angeles area provided authentic cuisines from Thailand, Vietnam, India, and more for guests to enjoy. Each attendee received one ticket for a savory option and another ticket for a sweet option from our vendors. 

We also provided a wide range of prizes, such as our grand prizes: a Tower 28 gift basket and Anua gift basket. We also allowed guests to collect tickets throughout the event for activities and games they participated in, which they could exchange for small prizes such as pop its, Smiskis, MUJI stationary, matcha kits, and more. 

Our performers for Night Market included many of our member organizations, such as: Band Kori, Shinkendo, ADAA, Asli Baat, Chaotic 3, CreSCendo, Hawai’i Club, Kazan Taiko, USC Kung Fu, Traditional Chinese Dance, Taekwando, and Trogons A Cappella. With this amazing setlist of performances, it was an endless night of cheering.  

As the MC for Night Market, I enjoyed being able to stand on stage and perform a theatrical act of small jokes and skits before inviting the next performance on stage. My favorite memory was looking out into the crowd while standing on stage and seeing hundreds of students laughing, cheering, and fully engaged in the moment. I felt overwhelming gratitude to be part of a community that is so lively, supportive, and proud of its heritage.

We loved the mellow night ambiance with the string lights of McCarthy Quad, smell of Chicken Masala, and sounds of conversation amongst the performers. It was fun to talk with friends and walk around the various booths to grab Anua sponsors, a mango sticky rice, and play Gourd-Crab-Shrimp-Fish with the Vietnamese Student Association. Of course, we could not forget to grab some Indomie and some of their merchandise.

This event allowed over 500+ APIDA USC students to explore APIDA cultures in a tangible and immersive way, through food, performances, games, and meaningful interactions with student organizations. This space allowed students to celebrate their own identities and appreciate the diversity within the broader APIDA community at USC. By bringing together so many cultures in one shared space, Night Market fostered connection, cultural pride, and a stronger sense of belonging on campus. We are excited for next year’s annual APASA Night Market 2026!