Rice University’s second annual Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander (SEAPI) Night will return Nov. 21 from 6-11 p.m. at the Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall with expanded performances, new vendors and an even greater sense of cultural pride and community connection.
Titled “A Thousand Lanterns,” the event will transform the Rice campus into a vibrant celebration of Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. Students and community members are invited to gather for an evening filled with music, dance, food and fellowship — all designed to spotlight cultures that are often underrepresented on campus.
“This event really started as a fun idea that just grew beyond anything we imagined,” said Vivian Ha, a senior at Sid Richardson College and co-organizer of SEAPI Night. “It began with the Vietnamese Student Association wanting to do something in the fall semester — something like a cultural night and performance showcase. As we talked with other organizations, it evolved into a huge, collaborative event that now includes groups from Rice and beyond.”
Ha said this year’s SEAPI Night will feature more than 20 vendors and 14 performance groups, an expansion from last year’s 11 vendors and eight groups. The performers represent a diverse range of countries and cultures, including Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands.
The event, which will be held indoors for the first time, will benefit from improved sound, lighting and layout, giving guests a more immersive experience.
“We wanted to make it more open and inviting,” Ha said. “Last year’s night market was kind of sectioned off, but this time, we made it so anyone from the Rice community and the Houston area could come and enjoy it.”
Much of the excitement centers on SEAPI Night’s signature night market, modeled after the lively open-air bazaars found across Southeast Asia. Visitors can browse booths selling traditional foods, handmade crafts and student-created goods.
Caroline Nguyen, a junior at Jones College and another lead organizer, said the planning team also took inspiration from Rice’s popular Archi Market, an event hosted by the School of Architecture where students sell their own creations.
“We really want to give Rice students the opportunity to share their work and build connections,” Nguyen said. “There are a lot of small businesses and creative projects that don’t always get attention, so we made sure the night market will include student vendors as well as community ones.”
In addition to Rice students, SEAPI Night will entertain vendors and performers from across Texas, including participants from Texas A&M University, Baylor University and the University of Texas at Dallas.
Both organizers emphasized that SEAPI Night’s mission goes beyond entertainment. The event is about increasing cultural awareness and visibility for Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities, groups often overshadowed by larger East Asian populations on college campuses.
“Within Rice, the Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities are relatively small,” Nguyen said. “We love being part of the broader Asian community and events like Lunar New Year at Rice, and we also wanted to create a space where Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander groups could be highlighted specifically.”
Nguyen noted that this year’s event will include an Indonesian music group performing with angklung, a traditional bamboo wind instrument.
“You just don’t see that kind of representation often, even in Houston,” she said. “It means a lot to give them a stage.”
Ha added that the collaboration between multiple organizations such as the Thai Student Association, Vietnamese Student Association and others helps strengthen the campus’s cultural fabric.
“It’s about creating understanding,” she said. “Rice is incredibly diverse, and this event helps bring together so many different people to celebrate that.”
In true Houston fashion, SEAPI Night also serves as a bridge between Rice and the wider community.
“We’ve been able to connect with a lot of small businesses and local performers,” Ha said. “This is really the only event on campus that brings in people from College Station, Waco and across Houston to share their culture in such an interactive way.”
The collaboration doesn’t end with the performances. The organizers began planning for
“A Thousand Lanterns” as early as April, coordinating logistics, securing vendors and recruiting performers. Nguyen said the dedication behind the scenes is what makes the night so special.
“There’s just so much passion that goes into this,” she said. “Behind the performances and night market are countless hours of planning, meetings and rehearsals. Everyone involved really cares about making it a meaningful event.”
As SEAPI Night enters its second year, both Ha and Nguyen see it as a long-term tradition for Rice.
“Now that we’ve established this as an annual event, we want to keep expanding,” Ha said. “We’ve talked about collaborating with Rice Housing and Dining in the future and maybe featuring SEAPI cuisines in the dining halls or doing more programming throughout the year, not just one night.”
With hundreds of lanterns lighting the way, this year’s SEAPI Night will once again illuminate more than just the campus — it will shine a light on the power of culture, collaboration and community.