The Filipino American Students’ Association (FASA) welcomed Halloween a few days early with their annual Halo-Halloween event. The Douglass Community Kitchen buzzed with students on Saturday afternoon, all eager to create their own variations of the Filipino Halo-Halo dessert.
“Halo-Halo is a popular Filipino dessert that I think perfectly captures our culture,” said FASA Internal President Lindsey Medalla, a junior. Made with shaved ice, ice cream, evaporated milk, fruits, and other ingredients, Halo-Halo combines many tropical flavors.
“The atmosphere is very relaxing and friendly,” first-year Katie Karabetsos said. The FASA members hung the national flag of the Philippines on the wall of the Community Kitchen and filled the room with festive Halloween decorations. Conversation and Halloween music were present throughout the event.
There was a wide range of ingredients available on the counter, including the aforementioned ice cream and evaporated milk, as well as saba (plantains), leche flan, red beans, mais (corn), macapuno (soft coconut), and sugar calm fruit. “It’s like ice cream with a refreshing Asian twist,” first-year Vidit Katyal said.
FASA was established in 2004 to promote the spirit of Filipino culture on campus. The club hosts many food-related events throughout the school year to highlight the importance of food in many Asian cultures.
This year, Halo-Halloween may have been successful to a fault — in the end, it was so popular that many of the ingredients ran out.
