The Taiwanese American Student Association hosted their 18th annual night market on May 3 in Storke Plaza, hoping to bring a little bit of Asia to the UC Santa Barbara community. 

Taiwanese American Student Association’s (TASA) Historian and third-year Chinese and linguistics double major Emma Wang said that the event was “for people in Isla Vista to get a little taste of Asian culture and understand what an Asian night market feels like.”

Wang said that TASA hosts the night market to raise funding for their other events.

“This night market really helps out with funding our other events because we are a self-funded club,” Wang said.

According to Wang, TASA’s mission is to “promote a safe space for anyone interested in Taiwanese culture and give students a place to gather.”

The night market featured live student performances from musicians Jasmine Echo, KP Modern and DJ On-Brand. Attendees were able to purchase crafts, food and refreshments from student vendors. 

The night market welcomed 15 campus organizations including the South East Asian Union (SEAU), Asian Board Game Association, and Crochet Bandits to table and sell a variety of foods, drinks and crafts from different Asian countries. 

Members of SEAU sold Thai tea floats and matcha to raise money for their club. SEAU Co-President and fourth-year communication major Julie Vang said the event allowed SEAU to interact with more students and spread the group’s goal of being welcoming.

“We are honored TASA welcomed us into their event, we are trying to share that everybody is welcome no matter their background and we are hoping to give people a community,” Vang said. 

Vang said this night market is to help celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, emphasizing the importance of honoring this month within the larger UCSB community. 

“We want to acknowledge AAPI month, it is an amazing month and it is great to celebrate it as a community,” Vang said. 

Other clubs used the Night Market to teach participants about different cultures through playing the game Mahjong. President of the Asian Board Game Association and fourth-year environmental studies major Austin Wong said it was “empowering” to share this part of his life. 

“[There are] lots of beginners, and that is awesome because I am happy to teach. I enjoy sharing this part of my culture with the public, it is really empowering,” Wong said. 

Wong had multiple tables of the Chinese tile-based game, Mahjong, set up and free for participants to play at their own leisure. 

Live performances were showcased every 30 minutes by different UCSB students like  Untitled Dance Company and the Diablo Duo performing traditional Chinese yo-yo tricks. Third-year chemistry major Melanie de la Peña Fong says that the performances were her favorite part of the night because they filled the plaza with “energy.” 

“The performances and the music are my favorite part, [it] gives the place an excited energy,” Fong said. 

Fong said she thought the event was a great place to connect with the community.

With Fong stating that the plaza was “a hub of familiar faces that I haven’t seen in a while,” she felt “very connected with [her] peers.”

A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the May 8, 2025 print edition of the Daily Nexus.