Have you been overwhelmed by all the virtual events for the last two years and eager to get out and participant in some real activities? Here comes a great opportunity, the 20th Taste of Asia is coming back to the streets of Markham this June.
March 16 marks the 100-Days Countdown of two important events coming to the City of Markham. To commemorate the moment, organizers of the two events team up to present the Hakka theme shows at the Taste of Asia. The Hakka theme is to celebrate Canada’s first-ever World Hakka Conference being held in Markham.
Due to the pandemic, the Taste of Asia in 2020 and 2021 were held virtually. While the audience was able to watch the Asian cultural performances at home, they missed the opportunities of tasting the delicious Asian food.
With COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, the highly anticipated event is coming back to the streets again.
“We are happy to welcome people back to the streets of Markham and enjoy the tasty Asian food,” said Dr. Ken Ng, chairman of the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham and the organizer of Taste of Asia.
“What makes this year more special is the participation by the overseas Hakka delegates who are here to attend the World Hakka Conference.
This will be the first-ever international Hakka event in Canada and the City of Markham is the first Canadian hosting city.
The 20th Taste of Asia and the 31st World Hakka Conference will be held simultaneously from June 24 to 26 in Markham. In addition, on the June 24 opening night, Taste of Asia will present the Hakka theme show.
“Canada is the model of multiculturalism and Markham is the capital of Hakka,” said Councillor Joe Li, who led a delegation to the 2017 World Hakka Conference and won the bid to bring the event to Markham.
The World Hakka Conference is an event attended by thousands of Hakkas from around the world. In the 50-year history of the World Hakka Conference, it is only the third time that the event comes to North America, the previous two was held at San Francisco in 1978 and 1988.
Scarlett Liu is a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative reporter at Economist & Sun
