Third Annual West Metro Asian Fair Celebrates Culture in Plymouth
The third annual Twin Cities West Metro Asian Fair is coming up this weekend in Plymouth. It is a big, popular celebration of all things Asian culture.
Organizer Chen Zhou said it’s a way to connect the Asian community together, while also sharing their cultures with the rest of the community.
“Everybody together, that vast difference in culture, makes Asia a great continent,” Zhou said.
It is all happening at the Hilde Performance Center on Saturday, May 31, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Around 10,000 people attended last year, a jump from its first year. Zhou hopes it only grows.
There will be colorful performances, booths and food all day. New this year: a parade, a watermelon eating contest and 13 different ethnic groups performing on stage throughout the day.
There will also be a raffle for a sought-after labubu toy, a monster toy Zhou said grew in popularity thanks to a K-Pop star.
One of the performances at a previous Twin Cities West Metro Asian Fair.
Organizers say there are plenty of food booths. Mahi Mahipathi, co-founder of Pizza Karma, will be serving food from his truck. His wife, Dr. Shine Mahipathi, who also founded the event, said it is about uniting the Asian community together and also sharing culture.
“We want to promote togetherness, friendship, celebration,” Dr. Mahipathi said.
For the second year in a row, organizers also hope to make it a low-waste event. To do that, they’ve enlisted the help of Ziran, a sustainability-focused nonprofit.
Grace Li, a cofounder of Ziran, said there will be waste bins for trash, organics recycling and standard recycling. Ziran will also assist people with that so fewer items end up in the landfill.
“We have had good success,” Li said. “[Last year], we had 60 percent conversion from the waste to outside the landfill. Some would become recycled, some would be organic recycling.”
There are more details about the event, including its sponsors, performers and events on its website.
