Tucson's first Asian Night Market is Saturday

You come face to face with booths full of bright purple ube cookies, piles of crispy, golden-brown lumpia and cups full of perfectly rolled ice cream, complete with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

As you chow down on your treats, you can watch live dance performances and music, each paying homage to different Asian customs.

If you wanted to experience an Asian market like this, you’d have to get on Interstate 10 and take the almost two-hour trip up to Phoenix. That is, until a few members of the Asian community and Tucson Foodie decided to create one here.

On Saturday, the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center will be transformed for the city’s first Asian Night Market, featuring live performances, cooking demonstrations, hands-on activities and of course, food.

“Our mission is to unite and highlight the Asian diaspora in Tucson because it’s pretty diverse,” said Shane Reiser, the owner of Tucson Foodie.

Reiser became aware of how large and dynamic the Asian community is here in Tucson thanks to Feng Feng Yeh, the organizer behind the Chinese Chorizo Festival. The idea of creating an Asian Night Market like the one seen in Phoenix was thrown around here and there, but things started to take shape thanks to Monique Garcia.

Garcia, who is a part of The Drop Dance Studio, which teaches various styles of street dance, approached Reiser about putting on an Asian Night Market.

“I was like, are you kidding me? I’ve been thinking about that for a long time. So, Monique and I started getting serious,” Reiser said. “We looked around for some venues, and the Chinese Cultural Center said the same thing: They’ve also been wanting to do an Asian night market. So, we pulled a group together.”

Reiser, Garcia, Yeh, Tuk Tuk Thai owner Bud Says, Kira Kira Collectibles owner Mariam Pacheco, owner of Circo Vino Sariya Jarasviroj, and TCCC executive director Susan Chan make up the market team.

“Man, it came together so fast. Everybody’s really excited about it,” Reiser said. “The team is so powerful with the five people that we have because they’re all connected to different pockets of the Asian community. In just a couple days, we had the entire event filled up with vendors.”

When it comes to vendors and entertainment, the team made sure to include something for everyone to enjoy.

If you have more of a savory palate, Tuk Tuk Thai, Fiesta Filipina, Yum Yum Pocha, Katsu House and Nick’s Sari Sari Store will all be serving up different traditional and street food dishes. You’ll also see local favorites like the octopus dumplings from Takoyaki Balls and the bite-size pieces or giant, funky-shaped cutlets of Taiwanese fried chicken from Herculean Chicken.

For those with a sweet tooth, you’ll have to stop by Ate Kei’s Filipino Treats for her homemade ube cookies, Lahaina’s Shave Ice for Hawaiian shaved ice and Dole Whip and Sweet Rolls and More for rolled ice cream that comes in various flavors.

Aside from food, there will also be other local vendors including Kitsch Mood, MadeItMikayla, Girthy Gochu, Momotin Studio, Kira Kira Collectibles, LazyDayTee and more.

After all that shopping and eating, you’ll have the opportunity to watch live performances such as Bollywood dances, Polynesian dances, Korean drumming, K-pop cover dances and a street style dance battle.

You’ll also be able to learn a few new things thanks to live demonstrations like a Thai cooking demo, a martial arts demo and Furoshiki Folding.

You can even test your skills at their mahjong and origami tables.

Reiser wants the Asian Night Market to be something that happens more than just once a year, giving the community the chance to learn more about and appreciate the Asian community here in town.

The Asian Night Market will be on Saturday, May 10 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 W. River Road. Check out their Instagram page for more information.