The Rockville Sister Cities Corporation in Maryland hosted a Lantern Festival at the Scott Fitzgerald Theatre on February 17, 2024. The event was sponsored by FASCA DC (the Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors DC Chapter), MGY (Millennial Global Youth Foundation), and TCML (Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning) of the Washington DC Taiwanese School. The aim was to promote cultural exchange and introduce Taiwanese culture, cuisines, and famous tourist attractions to the mainstream community in Rockville City.
Despite a sudden weather change on the day of the event, the community’s enthusiasm remained undiminished. Over a thousand people were attracted to attend. Many dignitaries also joined the event to celebrate with the community.
Several dignitaries were present at the event, including: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich; Christina Poy, Administrative Director, Governor's Office of Community Initiatives, Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs; Deputy Representative Robin Cheng from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO); Monique Ashton, Mayor of City of Rockville; councilmembers Kate Fulton, David Myles, Madissa Valeri, Adam Van Crack, Izola Shaw; Craig Simoneau, Director of Public Works at City of Rockville, and David Hill, President of Rockville Sister Cities Corporation.
Christina Poy brought a congratulatory commendation signed by Governor Wes Moore. One key point in the opening remarks was Marc Elrich sharing his experiences from his visit to Taiwan. Mayor Ashton also praised the cultural exchanges with Taiwan, including experiences with bubble tea, and highlighted the cultural diversity of Rockville. The celebration proceeded with two programs: cultural performances and cultural activities. The first part, cultural activities, was hosted by FASCA DC. There were 12 cultural booths featuring Taiwanese night markets and games, colorful calligraphy couplets, paper lantern making, and various cultural crafts. The TCML also set up a booth, using a creative "poke fun" game to teach people Lunar New Year-related vocabulary in Mandarin and to promote the Learning Center. In addition, the Lynn Group provided fried rice cakes, tangyuan (sweet rice balls) to introduce Taiwanese New Year festive foods to the public. The Taiwanese Hakka Culture Foundation of America also hosted an exhibition of Hakka cultural artifacts. The social hall was packed with people lining up to experience Taiwanese culture and receive red envelopes and lucky bags with little treats. The mainstream community was impressed by learning about the rich culture, delicious food, and many tourist attractions in Taiwan.
The cultural performances were kicked off by the performance of the Taiwanese Electric-Techno Neon Gods, followed by traditional Formosa Indigenous Dance, the Taiwanese style diabolo performance, and a young Korean trio also specially prepared a Taiwan Pop dance. These Taiwanese performances brought the atmosphere to a climax. There were also exciting performances from Indian and Vietnamese groups, which allowed the community to experience multi-culture. The finale was a magic show brought by a Taiwanese magician, Mr. Sun Ping. Mr. Sun's professional performance and interaction with the audience drew continuous praise and applause, bringing the cultural performance to a perfect end.
This event, filled with joy and learning, promoted cultural exchange among various ethnic groups in Rockville city. It was a successful introduction of Taiwanese culture, food, and tourism to the mainstream community, highlighting the beauty of cultural diversity and shared experiences.
