On Saturday, April 26, 2025, the fourth annual Asian cultural festival took place in downtown Berkeley on Kala Bagai Way, near the University of California, Berkeley Campus. The location made it accessible to students and other Berkeley community members. Since the festival's introduction four years ago by Visit Berkeley, a marketing organization, it has grown immensely in both size and popularity. The event featured booths from local Asian owned businesses, meditation centers, yoga studios, art booths, and food from many different Asian cultures.
“Visit Berkeley” chose Nepal to be this year's festival's “host country,” bringing a spotlight to its cultural traditions, music, and cuisine. As the host country, Nepal was highlighted in many of the event’s activities, and booths offered attendees a chance to learn more about its culture and customs.
The festival kicked off with performances from Nepalese dancers and spiritual monks leading the crowd in meditation and prayers. Throughout the day, attendees were treated to colorful displays of traditional artwork along with homemade food from vendors. Many attractions of the event were targeted towards children and families.
One of the main organizers of the event was volunteer Nima Sherpa, who helped coordinate and lead other volunteers. “The main idea is basically to advertise the different Asian cultures, and also to promote our cultural diversity, since we have a lot,” Sherpa said, “Especially Nepal, who is the host country this year, and we really want to showcase the diversity of the different Asian countries and our cultures through food and performances.”
Cultural education and spiritual growth were both huge themes at the festival. One of the booths was from the Anubhuti Meditation and Retreat Center, an affiliate of Brahma Kumaris spiritual organization. Sister Vaishali represented the center at the festival and shared the mission behind their presence at the festival. “We are here to teach and represent Raja Yoga meditation for our retreat center. Raja means king, and yoga means union. So union of your inner self, and the supreme consciousness,” she said.
Named after Kala Bagai, a South Asian American immigrant and activist, Kala Bagai Way was filled with vendors and booths representing Asian culture. Festival-goers could buy and discover traditional crafts and clothing, predominantly from India and Tibet. “Most of these items are manufactured by Tibetan refugees in India. We’re not just selling things, we’re telling stories and we’re preserving heritage,” Tibetan vendor Tenzin Noryang said. Noryang’s booth highlighted Tibetan artifacts such as incense holders, prayer flags, and lamps.
Since Nepal was the highlighted country this year, the festival displayed traditional Nepalese dances and delicious foods. One dancer dressed in a traditional Lakhey mask and outfit, performing a Nepalese cultural dance, Lakhey Naach. The masks are often bright red, made out of papier-mâché and yak tails used for hair, representing a fearsome and protective figure. Lakhey Naach is a century old Nepalese dance originating from the Newar community, a cultural group located in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. The dance usually consists of a performer dressed in the Lakhey mask and a fast paced drumming beat to accompany the fast paced dance style.
Event organizer Uttam Karki is originally from the Solukhumbu region of Nepal. Karki expressed his excitement for his country’s culture to be represented for the Berkeley community. “This event is to promote our country, Nepal, and introduce more of the Nepal culture, society and our food. I want to continue this type of event to introduce ourselves and promote our country. We have a multicultural diverse country, so many different languages, so many different people and I’m happy we were able to bring some of that all the way here,” he said.
“Berkeley has always been very powerful, and always fights for people’s rights. In Berkeley we are fortunate enough to be able to do anything with so much support and able to promote our culture in a way where we can all learn from one another. That’s (why) I call it the best city in the world,” Karki said.