10th Annual Knox Asian Festival Aug 25th 6PM -9PM, Aug 26th 11AM - 8PM

This project was supported in part by federal award number 21.027 awarded to Knox County by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance.

Mission

Our mission is to create a welcoming community by sharing our Asian Arts and Cultures. The Festival strives to bring together people from various cultural backgrounds, to promote peace, harmony, unity and a healthy lifestyle. We are promoting a diverse and harmonious society that prepares today’s children to take the stage as true global citizens.

Knoxville Taste of Asia

Saturday, May 13th, 2023 6:00pm
The Emporium
$95 per ticket

Benefit to raise money for the Asian Culture Center of Tennessee to help their mission in creating a welcoming community by sharing Asian Arts and Culture to promote peace, harmony, unity, and a healthy lifestyle. Enjoy a festive evening through a variety of Asian foods, drinks, and entertainment. Performances include the Lion dance, Bali dance, and Thai dance.

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What People Are Saying
It was wonderful and so well organized!!!! Thank you to everyone who was involved in this great event!!!!

– Ana Rivera

Absolutely wonderful event! Tahnk you for working so hard to put it together. Loved the food, performances, vendors…all of it was fantastic! Thank you!!

– Karol Harper

Absolutely awesome, amazing and super fun event! one of the best we have ever had the privilege of attending. All the participants brought their absolute best and it really showed. Our family learned so much and gained a greater appreciation towards the diversity, uniqueness and beauty of each country represented. We look forward to next years event!

– Grace Holt

I love this festival every year and ALL the cultures represented; it had a particularly important meaning to me this year though. My grandmother, who was born and raised in Japan, pased away of Covid. While I know my Dad will pass on some of the culture to them, sadly my young children will never get the full cultural experience she would have shared. But for a brief few hours, on a sunny day in Knoxville, I felt like they were embraced by the people and culture she so dearly loved. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

– Dani Helene

I was very glad to participate and watch so many performances from all over Asia!

– Ramya Sundaresan Kapadia

It was a great festival this year! It’s so great to have it back. Thank you for taking such good care of the volunteers – it was a pleasure helping out. Looking forward to next year.

– Matt Harper

It was really a great experience. I never thought this program could be that big … we had a great time taking part in the event.

– Anik Muhury

It was amazing. Diversity makes us all stronger. Thank you for sharing your culture with your neighbors here in our city. I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

– Brandon Childress

What’s Happening in 2023

The 10th Knoxville Asian Festival is going to be on August 25th 6PM -9PM and 26th 11AM -8PM, at the World’s Fair Park. We have invited Sumo Wrestlers first time in Tennessee.
History

The Asian Culture Center of TN (ACCTN) was founded in 2014 with the aim of promoting culture, diversity, and unity in the community. There is so much that a community benefits from every time there is a cultural event organized. People not only develop an open mind about other people and their cultures, but the host community also becomes a center of interest for individuals and organizations looking to boost the economic capacity of that particular community. Therefore, as a highly focused organization interested in developing cultural diversity and understanding in our Tennessee community, we have strongly focused on popularizing the Asian culture, which has grown popular in the area.

Asian Flags
Similar to previous years, the 2023 Asian Festival features authentic traditional food vendors representing Asian Cultures such as Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Korea, China, Japan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistani, and Vietnam.

The Asian Cultural Parade starts at 11 AM at the water fountain on the park lawn and ends at 11:30 AM at the Amphitheater stage.

Performances

We are especially proud of the featured performance art that includes traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, and Philippine dance & music.

For the first time, we will have SUMO Wrestlers are coming to show Japanese national Sport.

World’s BEST Sumo Show! Enjoy astounding action, as Sumo Stars go head-to-head!

We also have traditional Indonesian Music: Angklung, which is one of the most famous instruments in Indonesia. It is made up of a number of bamboo tubes fixed on a bamboo frame and the Batik fabric making Class.

We also showcase various martial arts demonstrations, Phillipine Traditional dance, Thailand Traditional Dancers from Washington DC, K-Pop and J-Pop performances, Kimono Show, a bonsai exhibition, a cosplay contest, a Japanese tea ceremony, and the Japanese drum group, Taiko Drum, from Disney World, and Korean Fan Dancers from GA. You can learn a Japanese summer dance. Many of our artists will travel to Knoxville from all over the country and from various Asian countries to participate in this year’s festival. 1,250 seats will be available under the Amphitheater tent for the big stage performances.

Education

The Asian Festival also includes a strong educational component. We recently implemented “Asian World,” where visitors travel through various booths that are named after Asian cultural interactive activities and feature traditional foods and art for each one. Children and adults will receive a stamp on their festival passports for each cultural booth visited. Everyone is encouraged to visit all cultural booths to learn about the diversity of cultural traditions.

Applications
Food Vendor Application
Commercial Vendor Application
Volunteer Application
Performer Application
Prohibited Items & Rules
  • No motorized vehicles or scooters (unless necessary for persons with disabilities)
  • No picnic supplies or coolers
  • No outside food/beverage or alcohol
  • No skateboards, bicycles, skates, skate shoes
  • No tents, canopies
  • No firearms, laser pointing devices or weapons of any kind
  • No remote-controlled vehicles or aircrafts, including drones
  • No stickers
  • No soliciting
  • No unauthorized vendors will be allowed

All attendees and their bags/belongings are subject to search and prohibited items will be removed at the discretion of security staff. At the gate, We might ask BAG CHECK.
We suggest you do not bring a big bag or backpack.

Knox Asian Festival is an outdoor venue and we use a weather data team to monitor weather conditions hourly on event days. Weather & event updates will also be posted on Facebook and pages and MC will make the announcement on stage in the case of extreme weather. All events are rain or shine. We offer no refunds or exchanges in the event of rain. Raincoats and ponchos are allowed. In the event of severe weather conditions (thunder/lightning, etc.)during events announcements will be made from the stage concerning the status of the event due to weather conditions. Information will be posted on Facebook. We ask all patrons to remain calm and listen to these announcements.

Guests visiting the Knox Asian Festival agree to assume all responsibility for their health and well-being and not hold Knox Asian Festival and its agents, employees, representatives, partners, sponsors, executors, and all others acting on its behalf responsible in any way with respect to COVID-19. If you are exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, please do not enter Knox Asian Festival. Common symptoms of the COVID-19 virus may include the following: High Fever, Headaches, Loss of Energy/Fatigue, Cough, Sore Throat, Runny Nose or Stuffy Nose, Body Aches, Diarrhea and/or Vomiting. Those visitors that exhibit any of these symptoms will not be allowed access into Knox Asian Festival.

 

NOTICE OF FILMING AND PHOTOGRAPHY

When you enter Asian Culture Center of TN event or program, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur.

By entering the event premises, you consent to interview(s), photography, audio recording, video recording and its/their release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, web casts, promotional purposes, telecasts, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by Asian Culture Center of TN and its affiliates and representatives. Images, photos and/or videos may be used to promote similar Asian Culture Center of TN events in the future, highlight the event and exhibit the capabilities of Asian Culture Centre of TN. You release Asian Culture Center of TN, its officers and employees, and each and all persons involved from any liability connected with the taking, recording, digitizing, or publication and use of interviews, photographs, computer images, video and/or or sound recordings.

By entering the event premises, you waive all rights you may have to any claims for payment or royalties in connection with any use, exhibition, streaming, web casting, televising, or other publication of these materials, regardless of the purpose or sponsoring of such use, exhibiting, broadcasting, web casting, or other publication irrespective of whether a fee for admission or sponsorship is charged. You also waive any right to inspect or approve any photo, video, or audio recording taken by Asian Culture Center of TN or the person or entity designated to do so by Asian Culture Center of TN.

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