The Taste of Asia is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

annual street festival organized by the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham (FCCM) located in

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

, Canada. It is the largest Asian festival in Canada with over 180,000 attendees each year. Major attractions include exotic food vendors, live performances from famous Asian pop culture celebrities, and a variety of community events ranging from

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

competitions to hot sauce competitions. The festival takes place between the intersections of Kennedy Road and Clayton Drive to Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue East during the last weekend of June. It is located beside Pacific Mall and Market Village. The Taste of Asia was named as one of the top festivals in Ontario by Festivals and Events Ontario. In 2021, the event was held between June 25–27 at Kennedy and Steeles. In 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the event was held virtually.

Programming

Taste of Asia showcases various performances relating to Asian culture including musical performances, dances, and martial arts performances. In 2017, Taste of Asia featured

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

superstar

Elanne Kong Elanne Kong (, born 30 September 1987) is a Hong Kong actress and singer. On 15 May 2020, she announced that she was changing her stage name from Elanne Kwong Yeuk-lam () to Elanne Kwong Yee-ching (). On 11 September 2021, she announced that she c ...

History

Taste of Asia was created in 2003 during the outbreak of

severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sev ...

(SARS) with the goal of recovering the local economy.

Organizer

Since its establishment, FCCM has organized, participated and been involved in a variety of events that promote the Chinese community and culture, most notably the annual Taste of Asia street festival. Other events include the 2016 Chinese New Year Celebration at the Markham Civic Centre and Vaughn City Hall, Mid-Autumn Festival, Thanksgiving, Asialicious program, PRC Flag Raising, YRP International Day of Elimination of Discrimination and many more. FCCM's goal for organizing these events is not only to bring awareness to the Chinese culture but to also interact and appreciate other cultural backgrounds participating. FCCM also has collaborated with multiple other charitable organizations in the past such as United Way of York Region, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Markham-Stouffville Hospital, and the Canadian Red Cross.

Location

In 2021 and 2022, Taste of Asia was hosted at Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue East between the border of

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. It also happens to be located beside Pacific Mall, the largest indoor Asian shopping mall in North America and is said to be the largest indoor Asian shopping mall in the western world. Between the festivals dates, the area of Kennedy Road between Clayton Drive and Steeles Avenue East was closed for the festival booths and attendees.

References

{{Reflist Festivals in Ontario Food and drink festivals in Canada Non-profit organizations based in Ontario 2003 establishments in Canada Ethnic organizations based in Canada Chinese Canadian organizations Chinese-Canadian culture in Ontario Markham, Ontario