Editor in Chief of Yellow Magazine V. Van Hoang provides a keynote speech as a part of CelebrAsian. (Michael Danser)

Asian Council kicked off its month long celebration of Asian culture, named CelebrASIAN, on Wednesday with keynote speaker Viet Hoang, the editor of Yellow Magazine in Houston. This was the first of over a dozen planned events in April that brought Asian heritage and life to the SMU community.

This is the second year that Asian Council hosted CelebrASIAN, and they’re looking to build off last year’s success. This year’s theme for CelebrASIAN is “Explore, Enlighten, Experience.” Asian Council’s chair Julianne Nguyen hopes that SMU takes all three to heart.

“Our main goal is to celebrate the Asian culture,” Nguyen said. “We hope to not only enlighten people in our own community but in the SMU community as well. We want everyone to explore and experience the many facets of the many cultures of SMU.”

Asian Council is the umbrella organization of five chartered Asian organizations, each bringing something new to the SMU campus. These organizations are the East Asian Student Association (EASA), the Indian Student Association (ISA), the Asian American Leadership and Educational Conference (AALEC), the Persian Student Society (PSS), and the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA).

There are several big events that should capture the attention of all SMU students. The first is VSA’s Movie Night, which is free to the public and includes a free dinner on April 6. Participants will be treated to a Vietnamese movie that translates to “The Vertical Ray of Sun.”

The biggest event of CelebrASIAN is EASA’s Night Market, a tribute to the famous night markets in Taiwan. Last year’s Night Market was extremely popular.

The event, on April 8, features dozens of booths selling various oriental foods, and offer attendees a chance to win prizes by participating in Asian games. Fear Factor also makes its return, challenging participants to eat some of the most exotic foods found across Asia.

CelebrASIAN will end on April 23 with Asian Council’s Charity Fashion Show. The charity is Room to Read, which was founded by a former CEO of Microsoft. The charity donates books to impoverished countries to promote reading and knowledge. Asian Council will be collecting books and cash donations the entire month of CelebrASIAN for Room to Read. “This is the second year of us planning a whole month worth of events and we’re trying to make it bigger and better with each passing year,” Nguyen said.