Various Asian cultural clubs came together to bring the Collab Formal back for its eighth year anniversary

The McMaster Collab Formal took place at the Grand Olympia on Mar. 8 from 6:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. The formal was a collaboration between McMaster Asian Federation of Charitable University Students , McMaster Chinese Students Association, Filipino McMaster Student Association and McMaster Vietnamese Students’ Association.

Their giveaway was sponsored by Sushi on Fennel, Swing Zone Golf, Allure Fitness, Hawk & Sparrow, Diced Ice, Shijia Fitness, Chung Chun, WingsUp! and Westdale Cupcakes. Their food sponsors for their snack bar were Diced Ice, Westdale Cupcakes and Tea Hut. The McMaster Alumni Association and Matamak were also sponsors of the formal

They were previously known as the Asian Formal, but they rebranded themselves as the Collab Formal to be more inclusive. They wanted to use the formal as an opportunity to showcase all the different cultures that their clubs represent in addition to everyone else's cultures at McMaster. Not only was the formal open to current McMaster students, but alumni and other non-McMaster students were welcome as well.

The theme of the formal this year was Moonlight Soirée. During the interview, Visali Manimaran, the Committee Head of the Collab Formal stated that the moon is an important symbol in most of the cultures represented by the formal, and the formal planners wanted the theme to something that unites them all. This year, the formal featured seven performances from students to showcase their cultures.

The formal committee hopes that the Collab Formal brought people together again, especially after the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We're hoping to further community engagement by fostering an environment where people can eat together. . .We strive to keep increasing the amount of cultures that we have at our events and the diversity overall, on campus,” said Jordan So, the Finance Head of the Collab formal and VP Finance at AF.

We're hoping to further community engagement by fostering an environment where people can eat together. . .We strive to keep increasing the amount of cultures that we have at our events and the diversity overall, on campus.

Jordan So, the Finance Head of the Collab formal and VP Finance at AF

This year, the formal planners particularly wanted to emphasize the importance of community, letting students know that they can always be there for each other.

“Just because we're [on] separate teams doesn't mean that we're separate. We can always come together, collaborate, grow together and emphasize the community aspect. I think that's the biggest thing that we want to do, because we're just doing this for the community,” Visali Manimaran, the Committee Head of the Collab Formal and the Co-President of MVSA.

Just because we're [on] separate teams doesn't mean that we're separate. We can always come together, collaborate, grow together and emphasize the community aspect. I think that's the biggest thing that we want to do, because we're just doing this for the community.

Visali Manimaran, the Committee Head of the Collab Formal and the Co-President of MVSA

Once again, the Collab Formal continues to showcase the Asian community at McMaster while emphasizing the importance of diverse student communities supporting each other and celebrating diversity.

Asian-focused clubs have come together to bring back the annual formal for Asian students in the McMaster community

McMaster Asian Federation of Charitable University Students , McMaster Chinese Students Association, Filipino McMaster Student Association and McMaster Vietnamese Students’ Association collaborated to bring Asian Formal themed “Enchant the Night” on Mar. 10 at the Grand Olympia . 

This event featured a night of performances, dancing, dinner, a snack bar and raffles. It was sponsored by the McMaster Students Union and the McMaster Alumni Association. Their snack bar was sponsored by local Asian businesses, such as Momoco Donuts and Lemon Bar. 

The Asian Formal started at McMaster University in 2014 when one of the MVSA co-presidents proposed to collaborate with other Asian clubs at Mac to host a formal and it has been an annual tradition ever since. It took a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic and this is the first year it came back. This is also one of the few years where they had great turnout for the event with over 80 tickets sold within two minutes. 

For many third-year students and below, this may be their first formal experience in university. It is true for some of the members of the planning committee as well.  

“This is my first ever formal. Before then it was just a story that were told from upper years and Asian Focus. The idea has [always] been there, but I've never actually seen it in real life,” said Sophia Van, the co-president of AF and the head of sponsorships for the formal. 

This year they aspired to be as inclusive as possible to make sure all Asian identities would feel included through their decorations and food. They acknowledge that Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese and the cultures covered by AF do not encompass everything. 

“We acknowledge that the name Asian Formal itself . . . might not be super inclusive . . . so this year, we're trying to step away from the name Asian Formal. Which is why we're referring to it as Enchant the Night, or the MVSA, FMSA, AF and CSA collaborative formal,” said Beverly Tran, the co-president of MVSA and the head of the performance subcommittee for the formal. 

In the past, the performers at the formal came from their own clubs and they would only have three performances. However, this year, they opened submissions to the general McMaster community and had a total of seven diverse performances, including vocal, dance, poetry and cultural instrument playing.  

The purpose of the formal was to promote diversity and inclusion and for the Asian community to come together and celebrate their culture. 

“The whole idea of this formal is to celebrate culture. So hopefully, they come with a bit of appreciation for not only their own culture, but [also] celebrating others that are attending the formal,” said Ryan Jay, the co-president of FMSA. 

"The whole idea of this formal is to celebrate culture. So hopefully, they come with a bit of appreciation for not only their own culture, but [also] celebrating others that are attending the formal"

RYAN JAY, FMSA CO-PRESIDENT

Not only does the formal allow students to wind down and have fun, but it also provided an opportunity for everyone to appreciate the diversity at McMaster. The comeback of the Asian Formal tradition allowed the McMaster community to continue to recognize the importance of sharing and celebrating various cultures within the community.