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| - I generally enjoyed Las Vegas' 1st Annual Asian Food Festival, and judging by the multitudes of people who were present when I was in attendance, it should be a solid financial success for organizers and food vendors. But festival organizers need to undertake much work before the next Asian Food Festival to improve logistics and their organizing of ticket sales on the festival grounds.
Although the Orleans has numerous parking lots surrounding it and festival grounds, it took us over 20 minutes to find a parking place anywhere. At 7:30 p.m. at night, we were in competition with several vehicles that were also swirling through the many lots in search of a precious space. Then, when we reached the festival entrance on foot, a single line of several hundred people (no exaggeration) waiting to be admitted wound around from the controlled entrance. I was supposed to pick up a ticket in my name at Will Call, so Diane got in the ticket line for herself, and I looked for Will Call. But it was not so easily found! And, when I asked festival volunteers and a security guard manning the entrance, none of them knew where Will Call was either, or if there even was such a thing. I was referred to a festival manager, and she, too, appeared to be puzzled. After she sent me on a futile trip to the VIP entrance to see if my ticket was waiting for me there (it wasn't), and I returned, she finally just handed me a ticket and let me bypass the line and gain entrance.
Meanwhile, other people who had already purchased festival tickets online were made to wait in the same line where people waited to buy tickets. I saw a few who complained to the festival manager be let in at the front of the line. But most persons with tickets in their hands had to patiently wait in the same line as the ticketless. This is not good customer service, logistics, or festival organization on the ground!
Once Diane and I gained entrance to the festival, I watched as delighted children on top of moving mechanical animals moved in a circular pattern on the asphalt surface below them, some with a parent along for the ride. There were horses, a panda, and other beguiling creatures. Older youths were enjoying traditional, often scary carnival rides, and, while I saw very few vendors of retail items, food booths were omnipresent. Here again, substantial lines of persons waited to place food orders in front of most of the booths. But these lines were not as long as I had encountered a few weeks before at the Las Vegas Greek Food Festival. Some of the food vendors had already crossed off dishes that were no longer available, but there still appeared to be an abundance of food that should have been able to assuage the hunger of all festival attendees. I saw Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Thai food for sale.
I never found the Wor Wonton Soup I was hoping for, or any other soup. But egg rolls and potstickers were being offered at multiple locations, curry was available, and I saw sushi for sale, but it was the prepackaged kind. Diane liked the Shrimp Tempura she purchased at a booth run by Anna's Garden, and we both were pleased with the Hibachi Beef and Chicken, Chow Mein and Chinese Vegetables that we bought from Hibachi San Tepanyaki Grill & Fresh Sushi's booth. She had a $6 bowl, and I had an $8 plate heaping with food. The beef was a little fatty, but it still tasted good, and the food filled me up while we watched excellent entertainment. We saw Frankie Moreno perform, singers A.C.T., and the party band Impulse. Seating was difficult to find but we were able to locate two unused chairs near the stage to sit down on fairly quickly. We then listened to the talented performers for over 1-1/2 hours, and I thought this alone was worth the $7 price of admission. Water was a bit steep at $3 a bottle, but the bottles were medium size, and festival prices for food and drink are always higher than at a store. It is just the nature of the beast. The festival crowd was mellow and very diverse in race and ethnicity. All assembled seemed to be having a good time. And, so did I.
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