TULSA, Okla — The fourth Asian Night Market event kicked off at the Hannah Banquet Hall near 21st and Garnett.
Everyone was invited to the celebration, which highlighted countries from Vietnam, Japan, China, and the Hmong community.
Anna Tran works with the Tulsa Global District, the non-profit that organized the event along with APIDA.
"This year will be the most diverse year for the for the AAPI night market," said Tran. "We have about 14 performers spanning from Japanese culture, from the Hmong community, Vietnamese dancers. We'll have people representing people from China, Taiwan and, I believe, the Philippines as well."
Tran grew up in Oklahoma City, but said being able to help organize the event helps her reconnect with her Vietnamese roots.
WATCH: Fourth Asian Night Market aims to boost representation
“Growing up, I didn't have the representation or really a lot of platform to showcase my culture," she said. “We've had great community feedback."
Between 2010 and 2020, the Asian population in Tulsa has grown more than 50 percent.
Athan Lau was born and raised in Tulsa and said he's seen that boost firsthand.
“Whenever I grew up, I remember my mom taking me to Nam Hai, shopping me through different Asian stores. But then I thought to myself, Why is there someone that doesn't look like me in most of Tulsa, right?" said Lau. "As I grew older, I saw that there was more celebrations, more Chinese New Year, that's what I celebrate, more Moon Festival, or even these various events that didn't exist 10 years ago.”
Lau also said city leaders are seeing the importance of representation.
“Mayor Nichols issued a proclamation designating May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month here in the city of Tulsa," said Lau.
Lau now serves on the Asian Affairs Commission to keep representing the Asian community in Tulsa.
Joelle Galapate-Ikpo was on the planning committee for the event.
She said another goal of the Night Market is to create a stronger network to boost the local economy.
“By increasing awareness for these amazing local vendors who identify as Asian American, we're hoping to obviously bring business and obviously help them boost business as well," she said.
Being Filipino-American, Galapate-Ikpo said seeing the Night Fest bring in so many people is truly heartwarming.
“It offers an opportunity for folks to learn about each other's cultures," she said. "And also gathering community.”
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