Pounding those New York Pavements: Bubble Tea Festival and Atlantic Antic

Finally a full weekend in the city! Those have been rare for me recently due to all the traveling I've been doing so I wasn't going to waste this rare opportunity to do something truly New York. Luckily, this past Sunday was NYC's first ever Bubble Tea Festival and those that know me know that I have a huge obsession with bubble tea and I usually have to drink at least one cup a week (it's a very strong urge!). So this festival was literally a dream come true for me. It was hosted on a street walkable distance from my house by the organization Passport Taiwan. Passport Taiwan strives to promote Taiwan tourism and educate the public about their country.

I had previously purchased a sampling ticket, which allowed me to sample up to 10 different vendors' bubble tea. While I did enjoy visiting my favorite New York bubble tea vendors (Gong Cha and Vivi's) and being exposed to newer bubble tea brands (Luv Boba and Bar Pa Tea), I felt like the overall experience at the Festival was underwhelming. First, it was extremely hot outside and the lines to get the tea samples were extremely long due to the hype of the Festival. I also felt like portions of the Festival were poorly organized. For example, one vendor out of the 10 never showed up (it was called One More), thus only allowing ticket holders to actually only be able to sample 9 bubble teas. I was surprised that a vendor could just casually not show up to a well popularized event like this. Nevertheless, I had a decent time watching the Taiwanese themed performances and trying out different types of bubble tea.

It was definitely a day for street festivals! I hit up the largest street fair in New York afterwards on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. And let me tell you, the Atlantic Antic festival was LONG. We walked forever and did not finish the whole thing. There were so many street vendors selling clothing, jewelry, different types of food, and ice cold drinks. On top of that, so many organizations came out to put on performances and activities.