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AsianWeek Foundation will present the First Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration on Sunday, May 22, 2005 from 11 am to 6 pm at Japan Center on Post Street. The festival will celebrate Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month in May and is supported by Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Mayor’s APA Heritage Celebration Committee, and over 51 organizations in the Asian American community representing over 225,000 members. With an estimated attendance of 30,000 to 50,000, live entertainment, a variety of multi-lingual booths, Asian food and beverages, and special performances, this promises to be the largest Asian-themed events in the Bay Area.
The AsianWeek Foundation is a non-profit 501(c) 3 committed to developing the Voices of Asian America. All proceeds from the Celebration will be donated to local and national charities. “We are so pleased to organize this festival for the people in San Francisco,” said James Fang, spokesperson for the AsianWeek Foundation. “With Asian Americans being the second largest ethnic group in the Bay Area, it makes sense that we have this festival to celebrate APA month with the community and the residents of San Francisco.”
In May 1990, President George H. W. Bush designated the entire month of May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the largely Chinese built transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. In 2004, Mayor Newsom issued the first mayoral proclamation for Asian Pacific Heritage Month. “We acknowledge and support Asian Pacific American Heritage Month along with other cities across America in the month of May,” said Mayor Newsom. “Asian Americans have made a tremendous contribution to this city. We commend the AsianWeek Foundation in organizing the First Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration. We anticipate that this will be a huge success and showcase the City's Asian communities, as well as giving the city an economic boost."
“The Asian Heritage Street Celebration is a wonderful showcase of our already strong and diverse community,” said San Francisco Supervisor Fiona Ma. “We hope that many will attend and enjoy the best of what our Asian communities have to offer.” This year, the month will start with a Proclamation Ceremony and Reception at City Hall on May 2, with the month’s festivities climaxing on May 22nd with the First Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration.
The venue for the Asian Heritage Street Celebration will be selected on a rotating basis in each of the APA enclaves of San Francisco. Japan Town was selected this year for the location’s proven experience of attracting Asian and non-Asian crowds with the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival, the Nihonmachi Street Fair, and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. For more information, please go to
http://www.asianfairsf.com
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