Hundreds of community members gathered in downtown State College on Saturday for the fourth annual APIDA Festival, which brought music, food and performances to Fraser Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza.
The free event kicked off at noon and went until 5 p.m., highlighting Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American culture through a mix of live entertainment, vendors, community programming and local resources. More than two dozen vendors from across the Centre Region lined the street, offering handmade goods, art, desserts, resources and cultural education.
“It is more important than ever to celebrate diversity and ensure the safety and support of all marginalized groups within Centre County, as well as America as a whole, especially since this is the 250th Anniversary of the United States’ independence,” Penn State APIDA Caucus President Gracy Franco Prasanna said in a statement.
The APIDA Festival is supported by Penn State Student Affairs, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State, the Pan APIDA Circle and the Borough of State College.
Food vendors, including Fatema’s Kitchen and Bala Saahas, served attendees throughout the afternoon, while several local businesses participated in fundraising efforts tied to the festival. Info booths, games, crafts and activities for all ages were set up by local businesses and organizations including Schlow Library, Penn State’s Center for Performing Arts, and several student organizations, to name a few.
A steady lineup of performances drew spectators to the main stage, featuring groups such as the Steel Dragon Dancers, Sangat, Sudha Mokkapati and Kalanikethanaya, a Sri Lankan dance and music school.
Student organizations from Penn State University also performed, including RAAGA, the Penn State Filipino Association, RAM Squad, Penn State Natya, Penn State Writers Organizing to Represent Diverse Stories and the Society for Indian Music and Arts. Students from Mount Nittany Middle School and Park Forest Middle School also took part.
Organized by Penn State’s APIDA Caucus, the festival is part of a broader effort to celebrate and support Asian Pacific Islander communities on campus and in the surrounding area.
“Every year, we get together to celebrate the culture of Asian, Desi, and Pacific Islander communities,” APIDA Caucus vice president Andy Zheng said in a release. “We hope to garner solidarity and build community through joy and cultural exchange.”
State College Mayor Ezra Nanes recognized the festival in a proclamation ahead of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, noting the role of APIDA residents in shaping the local community.
“The residents of the borough State College, whether recent arrivals or generations rooted here, reflect this diversity and contribute to a vibrant, connected and welcoming community,” Nanes said. “People of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage make up a meaningful and growing part of the borough’s population and strengthen our community through leadership, creativity, scholarship, entrepreneurship and public service.
“During this year of the 250th Anniversary of the Independence of the United States, we reaffirm our commitment to stand against racism, xenophobia and discrimination in all its forms, and to uphold a community where every person is treated with dignity, respect and belonging.”
Nanes encouraged residents “to celebrate the history, the culture, the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans to engage with community events and to strengthen our shared commitment to inclusion and belonging.”
Chiluvya Zulu, the borough’s director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, addressed attendees during the event, emphasizing both celebration and recognition.
“We’re here to celebrate the richness, resilience and impact of Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American communities,” Zulu said. “It’s about food that tells stories, music that carries legacy and traditions that have been passed down across generations. But it’s also about the truth and it’s about recognition.”
Zulu also highlighted the broader significance of the festival, acknowledging the contributions of APIDA communities across industries and the importance of representation.
“APIDA communities have shaped this country in ways that are both visible and invisible, from building infrastructure that quite literally connected this nation to leading in medicine, science, education and the arts, business and public service,” Zulu said. “These contributions are not new and they are not small. They are foundational, and yet too often, these contributions are overlooked, minimized and erased. We are living in a time where there are active efforts to diminish the role and value of immigrants and marginalized communities in shaping this country.”
As the event concluded Saturday afternoon, organizers and attendees pointed to continued growth in participation and visibility, signaling the festival’s expanding role in celebrating cultural diversity in State College.
“We are not just celebrating culture in isolation; we are honoring the full complex identities of people who continue to contribute, lead, create and push this country forward, often in spite of the challenges placed in front of them, and that’s why events like today remind us that representation is about being seen,” Zulu said. “It’s about being understood, respected and valued…It’s something we should all be working to build together. And they remind us that joy, this right here, is also a form of resistance”
