Asian American Heritage Festival brings thousands to Edison, N.J.

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The Asian American Heritage Festival held May 19, at the New Jersey Expo and Convention Center in Edison, N.J. achieved its singular goal of bringing the diverse cultures and traditions of the Asian diaspora under one roof, organizers said. Indian-Americans and other Asians participated in impressive numbers in the event.

Nearly 3,000 people attended the event drawn by high profile Bollywood star Parineeti Chopra, as well as numerous dance groups and vendors and businesses offering deals.

The festival was supported by corporate sponsors, vendors, food vendors, media organizations, community organizations, dance academies, according to organizers. Some of the event’s prominent sponsors were National MI, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, New York Life, Mass Mutual, Penn Medicine, and American Kidney Fund.

The show kicked off with some stirring vocal and dance performances. This was followed by children from the top dance academies from the area showing their talent on stage. Both classical Indian and lively Bollywood dances, rubbed shoulders with elegant and graceful Chinese dances, and fusion performances.

In the evening, there were more Indian, Korean, Chinese and Japanese vocal and dance performances that represented the diverse art and music forms of Asia, the press release said.

The highlight of the show was Bollywood star Parineeti Chopra. She arrived at the venue in grand style and was greeted by the rhythms of Indian drums and Chinese and Indian dancers swaying to the beats. Parineeti Chopra, who is the sister of famed Bollywood-Hollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, raised the house when she did some vocals.

After thanking the audience, she said, “As usual, whenever I come back here, all the Indians here give so much love and so much support. They give Bollywood so much love.”

Mrs. India USA 2019, Vidhi Dave also spoke on stage.

Parineeti Chopra walked mingled with the crowd, honored Festival’s sponsors and dignitaries with awards, danced to the tunes of some of her famous Bollywood numbers and sang a couple of her hit numbers.

At the beautifully decorated photo booth, she patiently posed with every fan interested in taking a picture with her, also humoring a child she saw crying in the audience who had not had the opportunity to be photographed with her.

“We wanted the Asian American community in the Tri-state area to experience an event that they would remember for a long time to come, in terms of quality, experience and style. And we were able to do exactly that.”, Mamta Narula, the CEO of Ultimate Media and the main organizer of the event, is quoted saying in the press release. “The 2019 edition of the Festival captured five years of learnings and this will continue into all the subsequent editions of the Festival,” the press release said.