500 watch Amerasia finale

By Irene Thirlwall

Fresno State students and the community were treated to an evening of dancing, acting and singing performances during the Friday grand finale of Amerasia week.

A diverse group of performances featured Japanese and Hmong dancers, a Lion dance, Martial art acts and a performance by rock band Abandoned Earkraft.

The performers included both students and members of the community.

“ The main goal of this event is to show people the different Asian cultures, to educate and to showcase them to the community,” said Anthony Rutanashoodech, coordinator of the event and treasurer of the Amerasia club.

Rutanashoodech said the night’s festival did not get as good a showing as last year. Chong Her, president of the Amerasia club was happy with the turnout, but did agree that last year had a better showing.

Both Her and Rutanashoodech attributed the low numbers to competing events such as the Britney Spears concert and the softball game the same night.

Still, there was a crowd of about 500 people, Rutanashoodech said.

The crowd responded enthusiastically to many of the performances, some familiar with a particular song or dance.

A skit put on by the Japanese Student Association demonstrated cultural differences between American and Japanese cultures regarding restaurant and airport etiquette.

In between sets, small skits mimicked the show “American Idol.”

Liza Salgado, a senior majoring in psychology, heard about the event from a friend.

“ I thought it was excellent,” Salgado said. “It brings an awareness and brings us closer to each other in this diverse world.”