Clara Fruin ’28
EE Staff Writer
For the first time in history, the Panda Fest finally came to Connecticut this September 27th and 28th. Panda Fest is one of the biggest open-air Asian food festivals in the United States offering tasty traditional foods, activities, live music, and cultural Asian performances that show the various vibrant cultures across Asia. And during the last weekend of September, Hartford’s Mortensen Riverfront Plaza got to experience this amazing cultural melting pot.
It’s safe to say that this was a highly anticipated event for Hartford, only based on the size of the turnout. For anyone planning to attend future Panda Fests, it is now one hundred percent recommended to purchase tickets online. The line to buy tickets was unimaginably long, stretching all the way down to Founders Bridge, and only grew longer after a few hours.
There was an almost overwhelming variety of foods they had to offer! From spicy Korean barbeque, steaming bowls of Vietnamese Pho, to sweet cups of Taiwanese boba tea, and desserts galore.
The most popular food items there by a mile were the Chinese gua bao buns. Of course, these were on my personal list to try, but the line extended for what seemed like a mile, and again, only grew larger as time went on! The delicious blend of unique and tasty smells made walking through an absolute dream, drawing in people from stall to stall. One stand that stood out to me was the tanghulu stand, which is a delicious treat on a skewer encrusted in a layer of sugar. This specific stand stood out to me because they had crates upon crates of authentic, fresh fruit, showing how these vendors don’t mess around about the quality and freshness of their food.
Aside from the food, many traditional Asian performances and live music performed on the Hartford HealthCare Community Stage with an amazing view of the river. The live entertainments varied from pop music covers, to aweing classic Asian dances, to a DJ set remixing popular Asian hits. One traditional performance that was especially interesting, was the Mongolian chopstick dance because of the jaw dropping skill and eye-catching costumes of the dancers.
In the end, this year’s Panda Fest Connecticut debut was an unforgettable hit. The crowd, food, and entertainment all made for a thrilling adventure. If you couldn’t make it, definitely mark those calendars for next year’s event, as you won’t want to miss out on experiencing the various, beautiful, and diverse cultures across Asia!