On this episode, we sit down with Panda Fest Founder BiuBiu Xu to explore the story behind one of the nation's fastest-growing outdoor Asian food and culture festivals. Returning to the North Lot July 31–August 2, Panda Fest will feature more than 80 vendors, over 200 dishes, artisan shopping, cultural performances, and immersive panda-themed experiences for guests of all ages.
BiuBiu shares how Dragon Fest inspired the creation of Panda Fest, why Mall of America became the perfect home for the festival's Minnesota expansion, and what lessons were learned from its successful debut last year. We also discuss the event's remarkable growth, the importance of celebrating culture through food, and what first-time attendees won't want to miss.
1:30 How Panda Fest started in New York City as a street fair and continues to grow
4:00 The uplifting message behind using the panda as the symbol for the festival
10:45 How the festival connects to the Asian culture…beyond food
13:45 Family elements that are featured at the festival, performances and more
19:00 All about the food (new, unique and fan favorites) at the fest
24:15 Advice for first-time visitors to Panda Fest
Visit: https://www.mallofamerica.com/events/view/37373
Visit: PandaFestMOA
Guests: BiuBiu Xu, Panda Fest Founder
Hosts: Jill Renslow, Daniel Jasper
Presented by Bloomington Minnesota Travel and Tourism the official destination marketing organization for the city of Bloomington, Minn.
00:00 --> 00:04 Mall of America. It's home to world-class shopping, great dining, and amazing
00:04 --> 00:08 attractions and events. And these are our stories presented
00:08 --> 00:10 by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism.
00:11 --> 00:14 Welcome to So Much More. I'm your host Jill Renslow,
00:14 --> 00:18 joined by my co-host Dan Jasper. Hello, Dan. Hey, Jill, how you doing? I'm doing
00:18 --> 00:21 great. And today we are talking with Bubu Xu,
00:22 --> 00:25 who is the founder of Panda Fest. It's one of the nation's
00:25 --> 00:29 largest growing outdoor Asian food and cultural festivals returning
00:30 --> 00:33 right here to Mall of America on July 31st
00:33 --> 00:37 through August 2nd. After a successful debut last year, Panda Fest is
00:37 --> 00:40 back and bigger than ever, celebrating Asian food, culture,
00:40 --> 00:44 entertainment, and community in a truly immersive
00:44 --> 00:47 festival experience. So, Biu Biu, welcome to So Much More.
00:49 --> 00:52 Yeah. Hi. Hi. Thank you for having me. And I'm
00:52 --> 00:55 so happy to join this broadcast. And also
00:55 --> 00:59 I'm very happy to bring the Panda Fest back to the Twin Cities again.
01:00 --> 01:02 Well, we are thrilled to talk with you today because we want to hear about
01:02 --> 01:06 your story, how this all got started, the success from last
01:06 --> 01:10 year, and what fans can expect to visit this year when they come to Panda
01:10 --> 01:13 Fest at Mall of America for the second year in a row. So let's start
01:13 --> 01:16 from the beginning. Tell us about what vision you had to create
01:16 --> 01:20 Panda Fest and how that got started here at Mall of America.
01:21 --> 01:25 Yes, so Panda Fest is a big outdoor Asian food fest
01:25 --> 01:28 in the US, and we started 2 years ago in New York City.
01:29 --> 01:31 And, uh, when we start in New York City, which is,
01:32 --> 01:36 um, as a street fair, because, uh, in 2024 we did
01:36 --> 01:39 one day like street fair as a Panda Day.
01:39 --> 01:43 And that day I still remember very clear. It's like July
01:44 --> 01:47 21st in New York City and very hot, like 92
01:47 --> 01:50 degrees. And I feel like, oh, oh my God, no one show up. But it
01:51 --> 01:54 turns out to be everyone show up and everything sold out in
01:55 --> 01:58 just 3 hours when we open. So I feel like, oh my God, that's a
01:58 --> 02:01 big, big, big potential for
02:02 --> 02:05 me to bring the Panda Fest outside of New York City. And last
02:06 --> 02:09 year is our first year to expand outside New York City, and we are,
02:09 --> 02:13 we are very lucky. We expanded to 11 cities with
02:13 --> 02:17 13 events last year, but till now, and, um, like till right now,
02:17 --> 02:20 we already in 15 cities with 24 events already.
02:21 --> 02:24 And I think after at the end of this year,
02:24 --> 02:28 we will be in 28 cities and
02:28 --> 02:32 with more than 40 events. So it's kind of like very fast-growing brand.
02:32 --> 02:36 And we are very, very lucky we can bring the Panda
02:37 --> 02:40 Fest to Twin Cities last year, especially work with Mall of America.
02:40 --> 02:44 It's kind of like amazing journey for us and amazing collaborations.
02:45 --> 02:49 And so yeah, that's a little bit background
02:49 --> 02:53 and story about the Panda Fest. And yeah. That is
02:53 --> 02:56 tremendous growth over such a short amount of time.
02:56 --> 02:59 I am impressed. So I would be curious of what surprised you
02:59 --> 03:02 the most of like how this was able to grow so quickly and how the
03:03 --> 03:06 community responded to what you brought to those specific cities so far.
03:08 --> 03:11 Yeah. So I've, I think first of all, I created this
03:12 --> 03:15 brand because I always want to do something for the, our community,
03:15 --> 03:19 because I'm from Asia. I really want to do something, um,
03:19 --> 03:22 contribute to my community. So I'm thinking about, oh, I want to, um,
03:22 --> 03:25 I, I, and I'm I know I'm very good
03:25 --> 03:30 at doing food fast, but when I choose a topic, I choose Asian
03:30 --> 03:33 food fast, this narrow topic,
03:33 --> 03:36 because there are so many— like my mentor told me,
03:36 --> 03:39 oh, you need to choose some, like do the international
03:40 --> 03:43 food fast or do like maybe pizza fast or some more,
03:43 --> 03:47 you know, um, famous food fast. But I will
03:48 --> 03:51 feel like I just want to do something I'm comfortable with. I'm Um,
03:52 --> 03:55 like, like confident with. So that's why I say, oh,
03:55 --> 03:59 I just want to focus on the Asian food fast. And also another
03:59 --> 04:02 reason that I'm the crazy fan of the panda.
04:02 --> 04:06 So combine these 2 things together, Panda Fast came
04:06 --> 04:10 out this idea. And I, uh, and then another very
04:10 --> 04:14 interesting, uh, background story is that, um,
04:14 --> 04:18 I gave birth in May 2024. So after I
04:19 --> 04:23 gave birth, the first 2 months of the motherhood is a little bit horrible.
04:24 --> 04:27 And I feel like, uh, very depression.
04:27 --> 04:31 So I rely my emotion very on panda.
04:31 --> 04:36 And every day I watch a panda live show, panda TV,
04:36 --> 04:39 and everything about panda. And I think about, oh, oh my God,
04:39 --> 04:43 I need to do something for panda. So that's a main reason
04:43 --> 04:47 for, you know, Panda Fest came out.
04:47 --> 04:51 And then I think the another, uh, the reason why we expand so
04:51 --> 04:56 fast, because I feel Um, to be honest, several reasons.
04:56 --> 05:00 First of all, it's kind of like we are a good brand and we do
05:01 --> 05:04 really attractive to the clients. So we got a lot
05:04 --> 05:08 of supporting support from different cities clients.
05:08 --> 05:13 So that makes us have the confidence to expand.
05:13 --> 05:17 And another reason is that I feel like we are
05:17 --> 05:20 very kind of like, um, trust local team.
05:21 --> 05:25 We work with a lot of amazing local team for different
05:25 --> 05:29 perspective, uh, perspective. Because I also have a conversation
05:29 --> 05:33 with some, uh, fast food founder, they always feel like they
05:33 --> 05:36 want to control everything on hand and they want
05:37 --> 05:40 their team to expand step
05:40 --> 05:44 by step by their internal team. However, from my pers— my
05:45 --> 05:48 point is that because we come to, for example, we come to Twin Cities,
05:49 --> 05:53 I want to work with the amazing local team, like venue team,
05:53 --> 05:56 like different third-party team, different like PR
05:56 --> 06:00 team, marketing team, because I trust the local people,
06:00 --> 06:04 but like they definitely have a better understanding
06:04 --> 06:08 for this market than us, right? So we kind of like
06:08 --> 06:12 work very, very tightly with a lot of different local
06:13 --> 06:16 teams for different cities. I feel this is another reason we
06:17 --> 06:19 can expand so fast.
06:20 --> 06:24 Another reason is that I always
06:24 --> 06:28 feel like there is no national
06:28 --> 06:32 brand, no food festival. So I always
06:32 --> 06:35 want to be one of it,
06:35 --> 06:38 or I want to be the— you know,
06:40 --> 06:45 when I do the research on the market, I feel like region,
06:45 --> 06:48 Midwest region, East Coast region, or West Coast,
06:49 --> 06:53 there's not really a big national food festival brand.
06:53 --> 06:57 So I want to be that one. So our whole team and
06:57 --> 07:00 me, we work very hard to, to make this
07:00 --> 07:04 goal happen. So I feel like there's a lot of reason
07:04 --> 07:08 combined together, like our goal, we got supportive from the clients,
07:08 --> 07:12 and also we got the support from our local partner.
07:12 --> 07:15 So all the reason come Together,
07:15 --> 07:19 it makes us expand so fast. You know, I,
07:19 --> 07:23 I happen to know the Mall of America team you work with and they are
07:23 --> 07:27 awesome, every single one of them. And I know some of the other local folks
07:27 --> 07:30 you're working with and you have chosen a good team to assemble for this.
07:31 --> 07:33 And that's proven out last year, you had such enormous crowds,
07:34 --> 07:37 but I had a question about the brand quickly. I love
07:37 --> 07:41 that during that time of your life, you relied on Panda.
07:41 --> 07:45 To help you get through that, right? And I think the vast
07:45 --> 07:50 majority of us look at the panda bear as something lovable
07:50 --> 07:53 and hopeful and bringing life and joy.
07:54 --> 07:58 And when guests come to the Panda Fest at Mall of America,
07:59 --> 08:03 are they going to see any pandas in any different— do
08:03 --> 08:06 you bring a panda here? I know we don't have a live panda, but what
08:06 --> 08:09 do you do? Oh, we would love a live panda. Panda. We would.
08:10 --> 08:13 Yeah, I want to mention, we, uh, in the past April, we just make
08:14 --> 08:16 a donation to the San Diego Zoo for the real panda.
08:17 --> 08:20 Um, yeah, because we have an event in San Diego,
08:20 --> 08:24 and then after that we make a donation for them because we got inspiration from
08:24 --> 08:28 panda and we want to give back to this cute animal.
08:28 --> 08:31 And yeah, so that's a very good question because I
08:32 --> 08:36 think we create a very different food festival when you compare to other
08:36 --> 08:40 festivals because our festival, it's the first time to use animal
08:40 --> 08:43 theme, right? And it's kind of like we,
08:43 --> 08:47 we create our festival around this panda theme,
08:48 --> 08:51 and all the vendors, their banner, their decoration, and everything
08:51 --> 08:55 should be the panda. And also we have the 15-foot
08:55 --> 08:59 inflatable panda for different city features, and all the
08:59 --> 09:04 clients will get the panda pin, panda headband, and we have the panda merchandise
09:04 --> 09:07 to serve. And also, of course, we have the panda bounce house.
09:07 --> 09:10 When you come to our festival, you will feel like very difference.
09:10 --> 09:16 It's kind of like you surrounded by the panda. It's really immersive experience.
09:16 --> 09:20 This is what we want to, to create, to be differentiation.
09:20 --> 09:24 Because when I come up with idea, people, a lot of people
09:24 --> 09:27 have the, uh, feel like it's too crazy idea.
09:27 --> 09:31 It's really hard to realize how you make the panda,
09:32 --> 09:35 um, like come to like related to a food festival.
09:36 --> 09:39 I said we can use a lot of decoration and we can create the,
09:39 --> 09:43 this immersive things for the mind. So our designer
09:43 --> 09:46 team is working very hard to create these feelings,
09:47 --> 09:50 and it's kind of like a vibe. And, and also
09:50 --> 09:54 we feel like, um, because everything is decorated
09:54 --> 09:58 about the panda, and people will feel like they are
09:58 --> 10:00 in this immersive, um,
10:01 --> 10:04 concept and topic. And of course,
10:04 --> 10:08 and we have mascots and everything to make
10:08 --> 10:11 people feel a little bit different. And,
10:11 --> 10:14 um, and then another thing I want to emphasize is that a lot
10:14 --> 10:18 of clients will— they will say, we came for panda but we
10:18 --> 10:21 stay for food. So eventually our,
10:22 --> 10:25 our festival still be the food festival. So people,
10:25 --> 10:29 I feel like the concept is attractive, but people
10:29 --> 10:33 stay because they taste a very good food.
10:33 --> 10:36 So I feel like combine these 2 together and
10:36 --> 10:40 make a good balance is kind of like something we
10:40 --> 10:43 are looking for and create. Yeah. You've talked so much about
10:43 --> 10:45 the food and I want to get into those details. But before we do,
10:46 --> 10:50 you know, it is a food festival, but it's so much more. And you bring
10:50 --> 10:53 great cultural elements to the Panda Fest that so
10:54 --> 10:57 many people of all ages enjoy. Can you talk a little bit about that connection
10:57 --> 11:00 to the culture and what you bring beyond food?
11:02 --> 11:07 Yes, so I think, um, one of our highlights
11:08 --> 11:11 of our Panda Fest, it's kind of like we have, um,
11:12 --> 11:16 we gather all authentic Asian street
11:16 --> 11:19 vendors to the mall to make this show happen.
11:20 --> 11:24 Like last year, we have 80 food vendors, and we have 50
11:24 --> 11:28 to 60% of them is outside of Minneapolis,
11:28 --> 11:32 outside of the Twin Cities. They're from New York, they're from Los Angeles, and from
11:33 --> 11:37 Seattle. That from Atlanta to make this show happen. So we
11:37 --> 11:40 have like kind of like 60% traveling vendor,
11:40 --> 11:45 40% local vendor. That makes our events very unique.
11:45 --> 11:49 The reason is that sometimes it's really hard for you to
11:49 --> 11:52 find this type of food in certain area.
11:53 --> 11:57 So we, but we want to have this food because we feel like this food
11:57 --> 12:01 really represents Asian culture or really represents
12:01 --> 12:05 like Korean culture, Chinese culture. So we We want to
12:05 --> 12:08 have them. So that's like our very
12:09 --> 12:12 strong part because we can get the traveling vendor to
12:12 --> 12:16 here to make this show because that's a big logistics.
12:17 --> 12:20 That's another topic that's related to big logistics,
12:21 --> 12:24 but we make this happen. But I also want to share a very,
12:24 --> 12:29 very interesting story. After last year Minneapolis
12:29 --> 12:32 events, a lot of Minneapolis and I mean
12:32 --> 12:35 Twin Cities vendor, they start to travel with us
12:36 --> 12:40 to different different cities. That's great. Yeah,
12:40 --> 12:44 so that's why I say it's, uh, it, it's kind
12:44 --> 12:47 of like, to be honest, from my perspective,
12:48 --> 12:52 I definitely support local business, but I, I'm more support small
12:52 --> 12:56 business because I, I think it doesn't matter if they're from New
12:56 --> 12:59 York or Los Angeles or Minneapolis, Atlanta,
13:00 --> 13:03 eventually they are still small business because I want to support them.
13:04 --> 13:09 And I feel like that's very, very good start.
13:09 --> 13:12 After we do the first event, they are going to have the team of the
13:12 --> 13:16 vendor to travel with us to other cities. So after
13:16 --> 13:20 Minneapolis, we have a bunch of like 3 to 4 Minneapolis
13:20 --> 13:24 vendors. They travel us to other cities like Phoenix and Indianapolis this year.
13:24 --> 13:27 They travel to a lot of cities with us already.
13:27 --> 13:31 So I think that's a very,
13:31 --> 13:35 very unique culture I mean, internally of the Panda Fest,
13:35 --> 13:39 like, vendor culture. Absolutely. I mean, families really
13:39 --> 13:42 enjoyed Panda Fest last year. So I'm curious if you can share some
13:42 --> 13:46 of the fun family elements outside the food. What are you
13:46 --> 13:49 seeing that the kids really enjoy? And really, people of all ages,
13:49 --> 13:52 it's so much fun. So can you share some of the family elements?
13:53 --> 13:56 Yeah, of course. So beyond the food, we also have
13:57 --> 14:00 a lot of— we have the all-day live performance at the stage, right?
14:00 --> 14:04 The K-pop line dance, something like that. And also, we have
14:04 --> 14:08 a, a free bounce house to the kids last year, and this year we're
14:08 --> 14:12 going to bring the bigger, bigger like panda castle
14:13 --> 14:16 to, to, uh, to North America to give
14:16 --> 14:19 the kids to have fun. And also last year we have the car
14:20 --> 14:23 machine and a lot of entertainment for kids to,
14:23 --> 14:27 to have a great time. I would say, uh, have a great and quality
14:27 --> 14:31 family time and also be Because we,
14:31 --> 14:35 we want to create like one-stop station for people
14:35 --> 14:39 to learn and know about the Asian culture. So that's
14:40 --> 14:43 why we are not only focused on food, we also have the performance, we have
14:44 --> 14:48 the entertainment, and we have the merchandise. Everything is related
14:49 --> 14:52 to the Asian culture, and we want the people come here like one-stop
14:53 --> 14:57 station and, um, and kind of let
14:57 --> 15:01 them have the opportunity to know about that. That's fantastic.
15:01 --> 15:04 So what would you say last year when you look back at PandaFest in the
15:04 --> 15:08 summer of 2025, what was most— the most memorable part for you to be
15:08 --> 15:12 here at Mall of America, to see the fans enjoying the
15:12 --> 15:16 event that you created and to see the thousands of people that came out here?
15:16 --> 15:19 What was most memorable? Yeah, so I would
15:19 --> 15:23 say last year it's really hot. It's also kind of
15:23 --> 15:27 like something 90 degrees, and I still remember
15:27 --> 15:31 that event. Our EMS is the busiest one for
15:31 --> 15:34 the whole year. And however, last year,
15:35 --> 15:38 the Twin Cities event is also— we
15:38 --> 15:42 got the most clients when it compared to all the
15:42 --> 15:46 cities we went to. So we feel like— how to
15:46 --> 15:52 say— it's kind of like I have so many emotion
15:52 --> 15:55 on that because I feel like when
15:55 --> 15:59 I, when I decided to expand outside New York City, Mall of
15:59 --> 16:02 America was in my list. And at that moment, a lot of people,
16:03 --> 16:06 they don't understand why. And even a
16:07 --> 16:10 lot of vendors, they never heard about the
16:10 --> 16:14 city, but I convinced them, trust me, that's a really
16:14 --> 16:17 good choice because And, and then
16:18 --> 16:22 they, because they trust me, they, they went to the Minneapolis
16:22 --> 16:26 with me, with our team, and turned out is so great
16:26 --> 16:30 for everyone. So after that event,
16:30 --> 16:34 I can tell you the Minneapolis event is number, I mean, the number
16:35 --> 16:37 5 station last year, but after that event,
16:38 --> 16:42 give our whole team so many confidence for us to expand,
16:42 --> 16:45 to, to go to more cities like that,
16:45 --> 16:49 that's like kind of like very, very important events for me because
16:50 --> 16:53 it's our first time in the Midwest and also it's my first
16:54 --> 16:57 time to, uh, I can tell you before Minneapolis,
16:57 --> 17:01 most of our events was in New York, in Boston, in Philadelphia,
17:01 --> 17:04 in Seattle, in Atlanta. I don't need to really persuade
17:05 --> 17:09 our vendor or my whole team to choose to go this city,
17:09 --> 17:13 but I really, really think like at the beginning, no one supported me for
17:13 --> 17:17 Minneapolis choice, and I said I must go. And so,
17:18 --> 17:21 but you know what, the benefit is that I'm only
17:21 --> 17:25 CEO for my team, so they eventually, they need to listen to me.
17:25 --> 17:29 But I told a lot of people why we
17:29 --> 17:33 should go to Minneapolis. This is from my personal
17:33 --> 17:37 perspective. I feel this event is really meaningful for me, but for all
17:37 --> 17:41 other perspectives. I'm so happy because we,
17:41 --> 17:44 we got a lot of clients' message,
17:44 --> 17:49 like email message after events, because people thank
17:49 --> 17:53 you for us to come to the Minneapolis because they feel as
17:53 --> 17:56 an Asian, they are proud. They've been seen, they've been respected,
17:57 --> 18:00 and they've been celebrated. So this is kind of like things
18:00 --> 18:04 I'm really unforgettable for me because they told us there's
18:04 --> 18:08 a lot of small Asian food fairs always be very,
18:08 --> 18:13 very small. Small or very, very be, be very community-based,
18:13 --> 18:17 but no one can make this large and big scale Asian
18:18 --> 18:21 food fest. And we come to the town and we celebrate with this community,
18:22 --> 18:26 so they feel very happy. We got a lot of this type email
18:26 --> 18:30 after events. And also for the vendor-wise, they also write a lot
18:30 --> 18:33 of thank you for letter to us because it's their first time
18:34 --> 18:37 to join this type of big-scale events,
18:37 --> 18:40 at the beginning they have so many concerns, but after events
18:40 --> 18:44 they feel like everything is so different and
18:44 --> 18:48 everything is so great. Yeah, we— so I would agree. We've heard so
18:48 --> 18:52 much excitement from our fans that are so excited
18:53 --> 18:56 to see it coming back for year 2. And I would love to dive into
18:56 --> 19:00 the food. That's what I want. We need to learn about the food. Um,
19:00 --> 19:03 are new vendors coming this year? What are the fan favorites?
19:04 --> 19:07 Who has the longest lines? Like, give us the whole dish on what the food's
19:08 --> 19:11 going to look like this year. The dish on the dish. Yes. Yeah.
19:11 --> 19:15 This year, definitely we have— we choose the best vendor
19:16 --> 19:19 team to come to the Twin Cities for
19:19 --> 19:23 this show. And this year, I think we still have
19:23 --> 19:26 the combination of the authentic vendor and also
19:26 --> 19:30 we have a lot of the Asian fusion,
19:30 --> 19:34 like inspired vendor, like I would say like for the authentic,
19:34 --> 19:37 like traditional vendor list, you must try the tanghulu,
19:37 --> 19:41 right? That last year I think it's going very viral, the crunchy fruit candy.
19:42 --> 19:45 And also the— a lot of traditional handmade dumpling,
19:45 --> 19:49 handmade sesame pancake. This is type of very traditional food
19:50 --> 19:53 that you, you definitely still have to try in our fest. However,
19:53 --> 19:57 for a lot of Asian fusion food, I highly
19:57 --> 20:00 suggest you to try like sushi pizza,
20:01 --> 20:04 like sushi taco. It's kind of like combination of
20:05 --> 20:08 the, um, like pizza with sushi.
20:08 --> 20:11 It's kind of very creative. Yeah, yeah,
20:11 --> 20:15 yeah. And also we have, um, like,
20:15 --> 20:19 like Hawaiian honey cone. It's like a very trendy
20:19 --> 20:22 ice cream and every, like, vanilla taste.
20:23 --> 20:26 It's but like also matcha taste. And you know, matcha is
20:26 --> 20:30 very trendy right now. And yeah, so I think come
20:30 --> 20:34 to our festival, the, um, you must try something traditional
20:34 --> 20:38 but also try something, um, like Asian-inspired fusion.
20:39 --> 20:42 That's, that's very like important.
20:42 --> 20:44 Yeah. Are you ready, Dan? Are you ready to check it out this year?
20:45 --> 20:49 I am so ready. I remember last year the crowd was so big and excited
20:49 --> 20:53 to be there, and I am excited to try a bunch of different
20:53 --> 20:57 foods. Mostly I like to walk around and watch what other people
20:58 --> 21:00 are eating and see how they react to it, right? Well, I feel like the
21:01 --> 21:04 long lines are what lure you in. You want to check it all out because
21:04 --> 21:08 it's like, this is the must-have item. So what's going to be
21:08 --> 21:12 the most unique item that fans will find this year at
21:12 --> 21:17 PandaFest? Yes, I think for the unique
21:17 --> 21:20 bites, like I said, this year I still feel like
21:21 --> 21:24 Um, like sushi taco and sushi pizza is a vendor.
21:24 --> 21:28 They didn't show up, like they, they joined us after last year
21:28 --> 21:32 September, so they didn't, uh, they was not in the Minneapolis
21:32 --> 21:35 last year. So you definitely need to try them out for this year.
21:36 --> 21:39 And this year, oh, we have the soufflé vendor,
21:39 --> 21:43 and it's kind of like an on-site cooking
21:43 --> 21:46 soufflé, and it's fluffy, and also it's
21:47 --> 21:50 kind of it like has the matcha flavor and wubei flavor for
21:50 --> 21:53 you to choose. And also this year we
21:54 --> 21:58 are going to have the Asian flavor donut. It's kind of like— done.
21:58 --> 22:01 Yeah, I can do a donut. I'm done. That's good. That's a
22:02 --> 22:05 new vendor for us this year. Oh, that all sounds good.
22:05 --> 22:08 But the donuts— you got me at the donuts. That's all I'm saying. Dan and
22:08 --> 22:12 I will line up with all the sweets. Never an issue. That is fantastic.
22:12 --> 22:15 And that vendor also have the Asian flavor churro. Oh,
22:16 --> 22:19 okay. That sounds delicious as well. That sounds good too. Okay, so now that we've
22:19 --> 22:23 gotten people excited about this festival coming forward,
22:23 --> 22:27 how do they prepare? Where do they find tickets? Where do they get all the
22:27 --> 22:31 information about the times? Because this is going to be in our north parking lot,
22:31 --> 22:35 the exact same location as last year. So it's super easy to get to.
22:35 --> 22:38 You can just access it off of 494 American Boulevard.
22:38 --> 22:42 It's right there at the north entrance. But let people know how they
22:42 --> 22:45 need— if they should get tickets in advance or they can get them on site.
22:45 --> 22:49 Give them all the details. Yeah, so tickets still
22:49 --> 22:53 on our website, it's www.pennafest.com.
22:53 --> 22:57 And, um, I would suggest to purchase tickets, um, before they
22:58 --> 23:02 come. So we still have some gate tickets, but like we will let the people
23:02 --> 23:06 who has the tickets to come in first. And for the gate tickets
23:06 --> 23:10 will be $20, and for the website the tickets will be $14.
23:10 --> 23:13 So, um, it really depends on,
23:14 --> 23:17 like, yeah, because I understand some clients want to purchase
23:18 --> 23:22 on that event day. And, um, yeah, so we have different type
23:22 --> 23:26 of tickets. And also, uh, I think this year and
23:26 --> 23:30 everything we upgrade, especially kind of like we have the
23:30 --> 23:34 better vendor team this year, and also we definitely will provide more shade
23:35 --> 23:38 and more seating and everything more for the
23:38 --> 23:41 clients. Yeah. So it'll be improved this year, which I love.
23:42 --> 23:45 And I also know that guests can find out more information on
23:45 --> 23:49 our website at mallofamerica.com, the time,
23:49 --> 23:52 the location. And one of the cool things about hosting Panda Fest,
23:52 --> 23:56 the biggest Asian food festival here at Mall of America, is the
23:57 --> 24:00 tons of free parking. Absolutely. It's so easy. And if it is
24:00 --> 24:04 90+ degrees outside, you can enjoy Panda Fest, but you can also
24:04 --> 24:07 step inside in the air conditioning, cool off a little bit, and go back outside.
24:07 --> 24:09 And we noticed that last year as well. People were coming back and forth.
24:09 --> 24:13 Forth. It's super convenient being connected to the mall. So, um,
24:13 --> 24:17 what would you say for the first-time visitors? So if they didn't
24:17 --> 24:21 come last year, what is one thing that people should absolutely not
24:22 --> 24:25 miss when they come to Panda Fest 2026? Um,
24:26 --> 24:28 I think the,
24:29 --> 24:33 the things is that they need to take picture
24:33 --> 24:37 with our headband thing and with the mascot.
24:37 --> 24:40 That's a Like, you know, everyone must, uh, um,
24:40 --> 24:44 want to, to, to take for our festival.
24:44 --> 24:47 And also I want to emphasize, even though you already come this year,
24:48 --> 24:50 all the gifts already changed because, um, we,
24:51 --> 24:54 we change our design for every event.
24:55 --> 24:58 So this year the, uh, the Twin City
24:58 --> 25:02 theme will change. So the inflatable will change,
25:02 --> 25:06 the inflatable headband will change, and the pin will change. So it's
25:06 --> 25:10 very collectible for everyone to get this. I love it. And when people leave
25:10 --> 25:14 Panda Fest this year, what is the one feeling or
25:14 --> 25:16 one takeaway that you're hoping for?
25:18 --> 25:21 Yeah, I think I, to be honest, I hope
25:21 --> 25:25 everyone can have a great time with their
25:25 --> 25:29 friends and family. And I think the
25:30 --> 25:33 biggest takeaway I want them to have is that
25:34 --> 25:38 Um, um, I want them know like
25:39 --> 25:42 the vibe and the quality time is the most
25:42 --> 25:45 important things. And, um,
25:45 --> 25:48 because we, we create this,
25:49 --> 25:52 um, festival and I feel like a lot of people,
25:52 --> 25:55 they really enjoy that because they, uh, I feel like,
25:56 --> 25:57 to be honest, from my perspective,
26:00 --> 26:04 If I enjoy events, not only events, because also the people with
26:04 --> 26:08 me to the events, and I want them to have a great memory
26:09 --> 26:13 after these events with this quality time with
26:13 --> 26:15 their family and friends. Yeah. I love it.
26:16 --> 26:19 Well, Bibiu, thank you so much for joining us and giving us the overview of
26:19 --> 26:23 Panda Fest, because I know our fans are going to be super excited
26:23 --> 26:27 to enjoy it again this year. So if you were here last year, come back.
26:27 --> 26:30 There's a lot of new things to offer. If you haven't been here, you definitely
26:31 --> 26:33 need to check it out because otherwise you're gonna have FOMO. You're gonna miss out
26:33 --> 26:37 on something very special because it's Panda Fest July 31st through April—
26:37 --> 26:39 I'm sorry, through August 2nd. It wouldn't be April.
26:40 --> 26:43 July 31st through August 2nd in our north parking lot.
26:44 --> 26:47 Come here, enjoy all the things that Mall of America has to offer this summer,
26:48 --> 26:52 and we know it will not disappoint. So be sure to follow
26:52 --> 26:55 us as you listen to all your favorite podcasts, rate And
26:56 --> 26:59 share this with your family and friends and anyone that you think would enjoy Panda
26:59 --> 27:02 Fest 2026. That's gonna do it for this week. We'll see you again soon.
27:03 --> 27:06 Thanks for listening to So Much More, a Mall of America podcast.
27:07 --> 27:10 Subscribe wherever you find your favorite podcasts. This show is presented by
27:11 --> 27:12 Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism.