Written for The Argo by Samantha Flatten.

On April 13 from 6 P.M.-10 P.M., Asian Student Alliance (ASA) took over the Campus Center Event Room for their biggest event all semester, the 12th annual Phoenix Night Market. The student leaders of ASA, PASAs, many of Stockton’s K-pop groups, and other cultural organizations from different schools such as Rutgers UAS and the Temple Cherry Bombs, all came together to celebrate Asian cultures. 

​Right off the bat, guests were welcomed to a space with festive music and colorful decorations that transformed the event room. The front wall of the room was lined with student vendors—-including Studiocatco, Frigid, and Bumble Blume Crochet—-who were selling second hand clothes, handmade artwork, crochet plushies, and even student-run clothing brands.

Across the array of busy conversions and the open dance floor was the biggest draw-in that students await months for: the food. ASA was able to bring in food from around five different local Asian restaurants, allowing students to embrace one of the culture’s most unique aspects.

Once everyone was able to grab a bite of delicious food and meet up with friends, the performances took way. Dances by Kohesion, Dpulse, Take-X, PASAS Hip Hop, ASA Cultural Dance, and Stockton ISA filled the room with energy all night long. A crowd favorite of these performers was the PASAS Tinikling group, which is a dance known as the national dance of the Philippines and originated to mimic the tinikling bird dodging bamboo traps.

Gabby Akiatan—who was a part of this beautiful dance as well as the PASA hip hop group and ASA band shared that the planning for these performances were a semester long project. She stated that “There were times that everyone couldn’t make it to the rehearsals where it made it really stressful, but everything came together in the end. So it was definitely a ‘trust the process’ for the whole semester.” The time and effort for each performance truly showed since the crowd went wild every time someone new took the floor. 

That same energy was carried over whenever the ASA band took stage, singing hits from Oliva Dean, Clarro, and Bruno Mars. Gabe Depaor, who was one of the head coordinators for this event, as well as the lead singer for the ASA band, shared: “My favorite part was really just planning and really working with all our performers. It was a lot of fun because it really tests how much you can love something, and I really love this event.”

All the positive love and energetic feelings all came to a roaring burst when the opener Fig and headliner Niko Rain closed out the festival. They promoted interactive moments by encouraging the audience to sing parts of the chorus; Fig even wrote a part of a song for a group of friends on the spot!

As for Niko Rain, he was the cherry on top and everything this event embodies: power and positive energy. Groups of people who had never spoken to each other before were dancing together and singing along.

Cody Bouttaphom, an E-board member for ASA, believed that this event “brings together a lot of cultures, and not just specifically Asian cultures, but it brings the whole community together to celebrate and have a great time.”

Stockton, Rutgers University, Temple University, and every club that performed showed their community that they have a powerful voice and amazing moves. Between the end of the semester and finals coming on, the Phoenix Night Market was a perfect reminder that community is stronger together and taking the time to celebrate one another, even simply by just dancing together, can strengthen a positive force full of energy and love for one another.