Asia Fest 2015--This Weekend (July 11 & 12)

(I'm sorry for the late notice...)

A new pan-Asian festival is taking off this weekend in Milwaukee:

Asia Fest 2015 (www.asiafestmlw.com).

For those who remember Asian Moon, I think this festival will have a similar feel.  Lots of music, performances, and dance.  Food.  Great food.  Some handicrafts and cultural displays.  Beautiful weather and family-friendly atmosphere.

Our Thai dancers will perform both days.  Saturday on Stage 1 a little after 4:00 pm and Sunday on Stage 2 just after 6:30.

Peng & Pook will have a Thai food stall.  It's a pan-Asian festival, all kinds of good food--Indian, Chinese, Lao, Hmong, Indonesian, etc--but, seriously, THAI FOOD!

Come out and support the Thai-American Association's participation and the overall festival and just have a great time on the lakefront!

PICNIC!

The Thai-American Association's Annual Picnic is one month away. 

Sunday, 24 August 2014, Noon - Dusk.
Root River Parkway, Area 3 - Same as every year!  (Map if you're new.) 

There will be tons of Thai food, a bit of non-Thai food for variety, fun, friends - new and old.

It's potluck, bring your favorite dish to share, a blanket, mat, or lawn chairs and enjoy the park.

We'll have volleyball/badminton for all ages and a game/activity time for kids.

If you have any interest in the Thai community, this is the event for you.  Lots of people, you can be as involved or as laid back as you want and get a taste of the diversity of Thai-Am.

Miss Noppamas & Folk Fair

The first weekend in November, a dozen of the Milwaukee Thai-Americans went down the to big temple in Chicago (Wat Dhammaram) to support Poi M. in the traditional Nang Noppamas beauty pageant.  Poi looked beautiful and graceful and placed in the runners-up.  An impressive finish for anyone from our organization; we don't have quite the heavy support of some of the big Chicago groups.

Isn't she gorgeous:

Nang Noppamas, or Lady Noppamas, is the legendary creator of Loy Kratong.  Loy Kratong is a festival in late autumn to send wishes, prayers, and thanks to the water goddess.  "Loy" means to float and "kratong" is a small raft of flowers, incense, a candle, and a coin or two.  One makes a kratong, carries it to the nearest body of water and floats it away at evening time with prayers and hopes for the coming year.

My own personal, grumpy opinion is that Loy Kratong is a far more enjoyable holiday than the more famous Songkran (Thai New Year--Lots of water, thrown, sprayed, generally tossed about).


Next weekend:  

International Holiday Folk Fair
22-24 November 2013  
Wisconsin Exhibition Center (State Fair Park)
www.folkfair.org

Thai-Am has a cultural booth, a handicraft booth, a FOOD booth, adult dance performers, and youth dance performers.  We may have a recipe demonstration or two--I'll confirm.

Come help out.  Come to enjoy.  Email:  thaiammilwaukee@gmail.com to volunteer or to pick up advance tickets for $10 each ($12 at the door).

Picnic Tomorrow (Sunday, 18 August 2013)!

Last reminder:  Thai-Am Picnic tomorrow.  Are you invited?  Yes!  All are welcome.

Picnic:
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Noon - Dusk
Root River Parkway, Picnic Area 3 (Map)

Potluck plus Noodle Soup.
Fun Games, Karaoke, Great Weather, Group Picture!

Picnic!  Picnic!  Picnic!

Wait.  Thai-Am?  What is Thai-Am?  What is this picnic you're so excited about?

Good question.  I'll try to do a more in-depth explanation of the Thai-American Association soon, but for now just know that the Thai-Am is a wide-open group that embraces anyone with the tiniest interest in Thailand and Thai culture.  We do a couple of events each year.  Definitely Folk Fair in November, and definitely our picnic in August.  We usually manage a couple more events as well.

We have native born Americans who spent time in Thailand.  We have families with adopted Thai kids.  We have Thai people who have lived here for 30 years.  We have Thai students that have lived here for 3 months.  We have friends who have never been to Thailand, but like us and support us.  That's all it takes.

Do you have what it takes to be part of Thai-Am?  If you have read this far into the post, you do.  If you have enough interest to come out and enjoy great food and a good time, you're in!

Picnic!  Picnic!  Picnic!

Did I mention our upcoming picnic?

This Sunday, 18 August 2013, starting noonish, ending when people leave.  Root River Parkway, Picnic Area 3.  We have a shelter, bathrooms, all that.  There will be food, food, food.  Some fun games for kids.  95% likely we'll have karaoke.  The parkway is nice.  Lots of shade.  A nice playground.

Here's a link to a MAP.

I find the easiest way to get there is to go to the corner of Grange Ave and 84th St (4-way stop) just west of Southridge Mall.  Turn north on 84th St.  Root River Parkway is the second left, and Area 3 is about 200 yards from the corner.

Be there!  Seriously, be there. 

Look at all those happy, full people.  You should be one of those people.  See you there.


(Note:  Root River Parkway runs on both sides of the Root River.  Our picnic area is on the southern drive of the Parkway.  Don't worry, if you're on the northern side, we set up signs on the corner to help guide you back to us!)

More Picnic News:

Thai-Am Picnic, 18 August 2013!

The picnic is always a great time.  A few years it's been crazy hot, others we've been rained on, but every year it is a great, great time.

This year we're adding a couple of things.  We're going to have a guaitiaow station (noodle soup--just like Vietnamese pho).  We'll set it up like the corner noodle stand.  Walk up, order a bowl, made to order, piping hot.  You add herbs and veggies and season it up the way you like.  We're asking a dollar a bowl, just a bit more than in Thailand, to keep the Association costs down.

Also a couple of members will have some Thai handicrafts or local Thai-inspired handicrafts for show and purchase.

Don't worry, these are just a couple of little additions.  Mostly, the picnic will be just like always:  Good friends, great food, a time to catch up with old friends and hopefully make some new ones.

Hope to see everyone there.

THAI-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION ANNUAL PICNIC 2013:

MAP!

This link should get you to an interactive map so you can get directions from your home.