On Friday, May 13, in the Castle, the Nobles Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community held their first-ever Asian Cultures Night for the entire school community. Honoring national AAPI Heritage Month in May, Nobles’ parents and guardians of Asian descent, together with history teacher and DEI Co-Director Nahyon Lee, put together a celebratory evening including cultural programming, education and traditional food from many Asian cultures. Nearly 400 people enjoyed the festivities, and it felt exhilarating to come together in person for such an uplifting event.
Since February, parents, guardians and students have collaborated on this year’s events with Nobles’ librarians, who gathered AAPI heritage book lists and created displays. Asian Cultures Night activities included a chess table (did you know the game originated in India?) led by National Master Derek Jin ’25, intricate Indian henna tattoos, a calligraphy table led by Chris Xue ’26, and a raffle.
The program opened with a heart-thumping Lion Dance, followed by performances ranging from Filipino folk dancing from BUFSA – Boston University’s Filipino Student Association, to jaw-dropping martial arts by New England Wu Shu Academy, to a Bollywood lesson that got the whole crowd up and moving. Nobles students lent their talents, too: a K-Pop dance, Maxwell Huang ’24 on alto sax, and the Vithiananthan sisters (Arthi ’25 and Tulasi ’22) doing a Saravanabhava Guhane, which is a Bharatanatyam dance. Tulasi also created the posters of significant AAPI figures like Chinese American physicist Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu and civil rights leader Cecilia Chung, displayed around Nobles throughout the month. Nahyon Lee researched and created the slideshow that inspired the posters, and that played during the event’s opening reception.
Attendees also enjoyed delectable treats from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, India, and Thailand, including noodle dishes, dumplings, samosas, sushi, mango lassi and Thai iced tea. Handmade hawthorn candies made on the premises stole the culinary show!
From students who helped publicize the event, to creating playlists and setting up, and all the parents and guardians involved, a heartfelt thank you. And to all the Nobles community who came out in support, thank you for sharing this wonderful event; we hope it becomes an annual tradition!
Enjoy this Asian Cultures Night photo gallery with some highlights from the event. (Photos: Anne McManus)
