The Cost of a Culture Festival

Back in February my roommate Will made up his mind that he needed to write more. Will’s already a great writer, he currently works at a digital advertising agency as a content writer. But, as one would expect, he became tired of writing about “Five Potted Plants that Look Great on Patios” and “Ten Creative Uses for a Self-Storage Unit”. In order to expand his repertoire and reinvigorate his writing prowess, he dragged me and my roommate, Mason, along with him to the Chinese Culture and Cuisine Festival.

Make no mistake I was far from eager to experience what I imagined would be a few hours in a tourist trap. We pulled up to Margaret T. Hance Park, the one that’s literally on top of the 10 in downtown phoenix, to a scene of paper lanterns, Chinese characters and hundreds of tents serving as temporary vending stalls. I immediately felt skeptical of the ‘finanscape’ that I found myself in. Tents hosting the likes of Costco Whole Sale and the Arizona Republican Party were dotted in between people selling stir fry noodles and hand crafted tiny wooden desk buddhas.

Try as I could, I couldn’t seem to shake the idea that everything at the festival put forth a capitalist veneer. Everyone was trying to sell something, food, trinkets, Costco memberships, the whole ‘MAGA’ thing. A stage in the middle of the park served as an anchor to the whole event. Performances of traditional Chinese theatre, Chinese tea ceremonies, karate schools, Dragon Dances, and the yo-yo master “Julius the Up and Down Man” entertained crowds that had found their way through the seemingly impenetrable mass of vendors. The talents and culture of the performers almost seemed as if they were a counter point to the State Farm Insurance and Fry’s Food Stores ‘vendors’ that had taken residence near the stage.

I can’t decide how the Chinese Culture and Cuisine Festival made me feel. The ‘finanscape’ of white popup tents around the festival imparted a feeling of a tourist trap/cash grab that left me skeptical of the authenticity of the experience. However, the Chinese culture that my roommates and I did soak up was unmistakable. Perhaps the best way to experience the festival is to focus on the true culture that is being presented and to concede the tent selling Costco memberships as a necessary evil in order to expose yourself to genuine people who are excited to share their heritage with you.