The “2025 Taiwan Cultural Festival,” organized by the Taiwanese American Foundation of Northern California (TAFNC), will take place on May 18th (Sunday) at the South Bay Overseas Chinese Education Center. After an 18-year hiatus, the association is once again hosting the Taiwan Cultural Festival in South Bay, featuring a first-time performance in the United States by a 20-member group from the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts. The event will combine Taiwanese opera, food, and games, expecting to attract a large crowd to join in the festivities.
The festival, themed “Night Market Taiwanese Opera,” aims to recreate the ambiance of watching opera performances at temple fairs in Taiwan, blending with the lively atmosphere of a night market. Running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., admission is $20 per person, including tickets to two live Taiwanese opera performances and a $15 meal voucher (to be used in coupon form, additional purchases accepted as vendors do not take cash).
A major highlight of the festival is the performance by the 20-member team from the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts’ Taiwanese Opera and Opera Music departments, traveling across the ocean to the United States to present six classic and innovative plays. The repertoire includes flash operas: “Love Theater Kids”, “Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan – The Return to Kiln”, “Xue Ding Shan and Fan Lihua – Fan Riverside”, “Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai – Grass Bridge Ceremony”, a segment from Journey to the West on Pan Sirdong, and a concluding flash opera featuring elements of rap, showcasing a youthful twist to Taiwanese opera.
Encompassing themes of love, warfare, and mythical legends, the performances are condensed into short acts with a lively tempo, aiming to captivate the audience effortlessly. By integrating modern music and rhythm design, the show presents a stage aesthetic that intertwines tradition and innovation, hoping to draw in the younger generation into the world of opera.
The on-site food area will recreate the bustling atmosphere of a night market with offerings such as Taiwanese stir-fried rice noodles, minced pork rice, rice dumplings, mochi, sour plum soup, aiyu herbal drinks, as well as authentic Taiwanese delicacies like Jiade pineapple cakes. Additionally, the night market game area will feature classic childhood games such as marbles shooting, goldfish scooping, and ring toss. The folk exhibition area will showcase Taiwanese opera costumes, shoes, weapons, puppetry props, and traditional Hakka clothing, offering a glimpse into the intricate beauty of Taiwanese traditional arts and culture.
There will also be a Taiwanese opera experience classroom on-site, where students and teachers from the College of Performing Arts will personally guide the audience in practicing the singing and movements of the classic piece “The Return to Kiln,” including the “Seven-Word Melody” singing style, horse-riding on stage, as well as training in the movements and walking styles of male and female characters, allowing people to engage with the art of opera.
Lingxia Liu, the Program Director of the Taiwanese American Foundation of Northern California, expressed to Epoch Times that the opportunity to invite the entire group from the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts to the United States is a precious cultural exchange. “Without the support from all sectors, this event would not have been possible. From airfare, costumes, headwear, makeup, to accommodation and transportation, every expense is quite substantial. This is the first time we have invited the entire 20-member performance team to come to South Bay to perform Taiwanese opera, a truly rare occasion.”
She shared the original intention for organizing the event, saying that in Taiwan, people often stroll through night markets, enjoy snacks, and sit under the opera tent to watch Taiwanese opera. This scene is a shared memory for many. She emphasized that the cultural festival is not just a showcase but a combination of nostalgia, preservation, and transmission. Through this event, she hopes to not only let fellow countrymen reminisce but also preserve fading cultural memories and more importantly, pass down these traditional crafts and spirits to the next generation.
“We are not doing this for profit but to bring the most authentic Taiwanese culture to the Taiwanese community in the Bay Area. This is a cultural feast of summer, a visual and gustatory extravaganza.” She earnestly appealed, “With such great shows, authentic cuisine, and rare performances, I really hope everyone will not miss out.”
Location: South Bay Overseas Chinese Education Center (100 S. Milpitas Blvd.)
Date: May 18, 2025 (Sunday)
Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ticket Price: $20 per person (includes two Taiwanese opera performances + $15 food voucher). Children under five are admitted free of charge but do not receive meal vouchers.
For more event details and ticket purchases, please visit: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/milpitas-taiwan-street-food-and-taiwanese-opera-cultural-festival.