Apparently Fridley Sucks But There'll Be A Rocking Summer Festival With Nhu Loan

Monday, August 10, 2009

I caught this down at 8Asians via the Star Tribune and I just happened to think to myself - "Elvis? Really?" Anything, but being Asian I guess:

Last week, as the rest of the country tried to forget the unpleasant confrontation between Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge police officer James Crowley, I had my own Gates-Crowley moment. I went to Fridley to interview the president of a large manufacturing company. I arrived a few minutes before noon and told the receptionist at the front desk I was looking for the president's executive assistant.

"Oh. Are you delivering food?" she asked. Oh, no, she didn't!

It wasn't the first time I was mistaken for a Chinese food delivery guy. In college, I had arrived at my girlfriend's dorm with dinner and the front desk dude assumed just that. I was embarrassed, to be sure, but let it go. That's the burden of being a Chinese-American with a penchant for baseball caps, jeans and takeout food. Yet the receptionist's inquiry stunned me. I was wearing a dress shirt, black slacks and black dress shoes. True, I was sporting a backpack and sunglasses, but how many food delivery guys whip out kung pao chicken from a Gap bag?
And in other news I happened to get this sent on in about the Annual VN Summer Festival which I'm posting on up:

The Vietnamese Community of Minnesota will hold its Annual Summer Festival on Saturday, August 15, 2009. This year's Summer Festival will be held for the first time at the Peavey Plaza, which is located at the heart of Downtown Minneapolis.

Saturday, August 15, 2009
10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Peavey Plaza - 1111 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403


This FREE event is sponsored by ClearWay MinnesotaTM and the public is encouraged to attend this family friendly and cultural highlight of the summer.

The 2009 Summer Festival will include a live cultural entertainment segment featuring famous vocal artist Nhu Loan from the Thuy Nga Production, Greenfield Band and local talents. Other activities include sport competitions, a fashion show with the participation of former pageant winners, dances performed by local performing groups. This year, we also add one new and exciting the Vietnamese All Star Contest for Vietnamese children ages from 5 to 10 to compete. In addition, we will have a cooking demonstration to teach the audience how to make fresh and delicious Vietnamese spring rolls.
Apparently don't go to Fridely, but do hop on down to the Minneapolis to catch some Nhu Loan.