Robert Wood Johnson to Host Asian Heritage Festival Saturday

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) will transform its courtyard on May 11 into the bustling site of a festival featuring various activities designed to showcase the vibrant countries and cultures of Asia.

 Open to the public, the Asian Heritage Festival is organized by RWJUH’s Asian Employee Networking Resource Group, one of six such groups established at the hospital to recognize and honor the diverse mix of people and cultures that exist within the hospital and within the communities that it serves.

While at the event, which starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., festival-goers will have the opportunity to sample such Asian fare as Filipino Pancit and Lechon and Indian Khaman Dhokla, among other dishes supplied, in part, by hospital employees and members of the Philippine Nurses Association of New Jersey, Inc. (PNANJ).

The festivities will also include a Henna hand-painting station; a parade celebrating Flores de Mayo, a religious festival widely celebrated in the Philippines; a fashion show featuring RWJUH employees, physicians, community members and students from Rutgers, The State University, who will be decked in traditional garb from different Asian countries; performances of folk dances and songs and more.

Although the festival is free, attendees taking part in the food tastings will be asked to make a minimum donation of $2 per tasting. Proceeds from the sales will go toward charitable causes, including the Philippine Medical Mission, that benefit the needy in the Philippines and India.

-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital