Throughout her Hanover Park home, Margie Alvarez keeps reminders of her homeland. There are handkerchiefs made out of pineapple fiber, woven baskets used as backpacks and party favors crafted from crushed shells. But instead of keeping these treasures from the Philippines to herself, Alvarez wanted to share them so others could learn more about her native culture.
She brought some of her belongings last weekend to the Asian Festival, where more than 100 people got a taste and glimpse of food, music and customs from the East. The event, sponsored by the Hanover Park Human Relations Committee and held at the park district’s Community Center, featured residents from China, Korea, Japan, India and the Philippines.
“We can get together to know each other and learn different cultures,” Alvarez said. “We want others to know that we’re here so that we can be recognized and be part of the community.”
Residents from each of the countries set up booths with items and food representative of their culture. Some also sang traditional songs, demonstrated martial arts and played native instruments such as the koto from Japan.
“We want to continually honor and recognize culture and traditions,” said Michael Jenkins of Hanover Park, chairman of the human relations committee. “By having a love and appreciation for the various cultures, we can live together in harmony and complement each other with our differences and expressions of traditions.”
Edwin Chen of Hanover Park brought along his 20-month-old daughter, Stephanie, who ran around to the different booths and carefully watched the other children dressed in their colorful costumes.
“We want to make sure she gets to see other cultures,” Chen said. “It’s a family event and great to see that the village is doing something like this to get everyone together.”
Guests could sample foods such as rice cake from the Philippines and sushi and teriyaki chicken from Japan. The Japanese booth also featured a setting for a traditional tea ceremony, while those from China compared the recent Disney movie “Mulan” with the original Chinese poem.
“This event is for fun and enlightenment,” said Patricia Wilson of Hanover Park, co-chair of the Asian Festival. “We have such a large Asian population, and (we) never come together.”
Although this was the first Asian Festival, the Hanover Park Human Relations Committee has previously sponsored events to recognize the Hispanic and African-American cultures.
