By Lucy Liou, Chairperson of Hakka Association of New York
On May 31, 2025, we hosted our annual Potluck in the Park event at Cunningham Park in celebration of the traditional Hakka “Fifth Month Festival,” also known as the Dragon Boat Festival. Although the weather forecast originally predicted rain, it turned into strong winds instead. Staying true to the resilient Hakka spirit, former president Kai-Jung Huang and board member Chen-Chih Fan bravely battled the wind in an attempt to hang the association’s banner between two trees. In the end, they successfully secured it to the park railing instead. Meanwhile, other board members and young participants worked together efficiently to set up tables and chairs and lay out all the food. The scene was reminiscent of a traditional Hakka family banquet, full of teamwork and warmth.
The attendees included founding members, second- and third-generation Hakka youth, and long-time community friends. It was a rare and joyful opportunity for everyone to gather. Although President Ai-Lin Chung had prepared a program—including a session of Baduanjin (八段錦) led by teacher Chun-Hsien Chen—the crowd was more interested in catching up and chatting with one another (“打嘴古”), so the rest of the program happily gave way to casual conversation.
This year, special emphasis was placed on sharing Hakka cuisine. The spread featured traditional dishes such as braised pork with preserved vegetables, Hakka-style stuffed tofu, stir-fried eggplant with basil, sesame oil chicken, poached chicken, stir-fried rice noodles, sticky rice cakes, and the beloved Hakka dessert niu wan shui (glutinous rice balls in brown sugar ginger syrup).
During her remarks, President Chung explained that Hakka people refer to the Dragon Boat Festival as the “Fifth Month Festival.” In addition to eating rice dumplings (zongzi), a distinctive tradition is hanging mugwort at the front door to ward off evil spirits and ensure the family’s health and safety throughout the year.
One of the most touching moments came from Bor-Cheng Hsu, a current Overseas Community Affairs Council member who has long supported the Hakka Association of NY and its mission to promote Hakka culture. Every year, he brings his wife and two sons to the event. This year, he brought an electric egg cake maker and generously made and served the treats fresh in the park for everyone to enjoy. His deep love and support for the Hakka community was truly inspiring.
As the afternoon came to a close, all attendees—young and old—left the park with a warm heart, fond memories, and gift bags containing traditional zongzi and mugwort cakes, courtesy of the Hakka Association of NY.
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