From food and clothing to arts and crafts and performances, San Francisco’s Little Saigon District will be bustling with all things Asian at the 8th annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration — AHSC — on the third Saturday in May.
On May 19th, the event will kick off with a Faces of Asia Cultural Procession organized by the Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center.
Popular returning activities for people of all ages will include J-Cars; a children’s area; a healthy living pavilion; a cultural procession; free film screenings, presented by the Center for Asian American Media; and performances by Asian American artists, DJs, and martial arts experts. The fair will also offer free hepatitis B screenings.
For the first time ever, the fair will feature celebrity cooking demonstrations — including a lesson from renown chef Martin Yan and Slanted Door’s Charles Phan this year.
“We want people to have a fun time and to gain an understanding and appreciation of the diversity of the Asian American community — through food, cultural exhibits, performances, et cetera,” said Community Relations Manager Angela Pang for the AsianWeek Foundation, which organizes the event.
Pang added that, “We hope the fair raises awareness of the Vietnamese community and helps kick-start the area’s many Vietnamese businesses and that the fair will help transform Little Saigon into a tourist attraction like Chinatown and Japantown, that visitors ‘must see’ in the city.”
The festival attracts 90,000 to 100,000 people each year, according to Pang. “We draw people of all ages and ethnicities, and also cross generations — from immigrants to second/third generation Asian Americans,” she noted.
AHSC is supported by more than 250 local and community groups representing more than 625,000 members and associates, according to Pang. The festival operates on a budget of over $100,000 with many contributions of resources from corporate sponsors to over 400 volunteers.
The first AHSC festival was held in 2005 and took place in Japantown to honor the Japanese community. The second year’s festival showcased the Chinese community on Irving Street in the Sunset District; the third festival paid homage to the large Filipino community in the South of Market area; in its fourth year, the festival returned to Japantown; and in the fifth year it was held in Little Saigon/Civic Center, where it has been held ever since.
AHSC has been held in the Little Saigon/Civic Center area since 2009. “San Francisco is home to the second Little Saigon in the United States, a name officially given only four years ago to the two blocks of Larkin Street between Eddy and O’Farrell,” Pang explained.
“Approximately 2,000 of the city’s 13,000 Vietnamese Americans live in the Little Saigon/Tenderloin, with many arriving as refugees after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Vietnamese Americans have since made a home, creating schools, service centers and at least 250 businesses in the area.”
Pang further added, “To pay homage to the Vietnamese community, the San Francisco Little Saigon Gate — two 8-ton granite and marble pillars, a symbol of peace, happiness and safety for the Vietnamese that have settled here — were erected last July. They now stand at the intersection of Larkin and Eddy streets.”
The Little Saigon location also is ideal for the festival because it is easily accessible by public transformation, Pang noted.
Julia Yoon, owner of Seoul on Wheels, will serve a variety of Korean food at this year’s festival, including galbi — boneless short ribs; bulgogi — rib eye beef; spicy pork; bulgogi chicken; sauteed tofu; kimchee fried rice; korritos — Korean barbecue burritos; and Korean barbecue tacos, which are always a hit, she said.
Yoon, who is participating in the festival for the third time, said: “I love being part of the festival because being Asian-American myself, I appreciate that the festival celebrates all if the different Asian cultures of the Bay Area.” She added, “The Asian Heritage celebration is a great place for Asian vendors to proudly show off our cuisines, art and dance, which in turn helps grow our visibility.”
Brandt Fuse, owner of Sumo Fish Design Co., will sell his Asian-themed T-shirts at the festival. “I enjoy the vibe and atmosphere of local street festivals, and the AHSC is a fun event with a good mix of entertainment, food and artisan vendors,” Fuse said. He is participating in the festival for the sixth time.
“It's a good venue for me as my artwork and T-shirts generally target a younger demographic interested in Japanese and Pan-Asian culture,” Fuse added.
Jeff Bui, one of the partners in Bok Choy Apparel, will sell graphic T-shirts primarily designed by local Asian American artists at the festival, he said. The T-shirts have roots in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino backgrounds.
“The goal of our company is to build community in the Asian American community, and to share the parts of our culture that we love with everyone, Asian and non-Asian,” explained Bui, who is participating in the festival for the third time. “The Asian Heritage Street Fair is centrally located in Downtown San Francisco, allowing us to do just that,” he added.
We love to foster local artists, giving them an outlet for their creative side as well.”
Bui further said, “We love the location and the theme of the Asian Heritage Street Fair. The location makes it easily accessible to all types of people from all over the world. It never ceases to amaze us that someone from halfway across the world is tickled by our designs. The theme is most aligned to our company since we have T-shirts inspired by many different Asian cultures.”
The AHSC is just one of many festivals in which Bok Choy Apparel participates each year. “We participate in several street fairs in the Bay Area in order to get our name out in the community,” explained Bui.
Taiwanese American Professionals — TAP — has participated in the festival since 2009, according to Community Chair Wilson Tsao.
“TAP is happy to participate in the AHSC because it's one of the largest gatherings of Asian Americans in the Bay Area,” Tsao said. “Because May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, it's a great time to celebrate and bring attention to the success and contributions of Asian American organizations and communities throughout the Bay Area.
“TAP partners with and supports AsianWeek Foundation throughout the year, and we are happy to bring the focus on Taiwanese culture to AHSC every May. AHSC is a great event — not only for our members to gather with other Asian American organizations in the Bay Area, but also to further spread the culture and awareness of Taiwan to the community.”
Tsao further added, “As a nonprofit vendor, TAP embraces the opportunity to invite all festival attendees to learn more about our organization and what we‘re all about. Anyone who attends the festival is there to join in on the celebration of Asian heritage so we're proud to be a part of it and share the TAP story and Taiwanese culture.”
Those who stop by the TAP booth “can expect to learn more about Taiwanese culture and the TAP organization,” according to Tsao.
“They will hear information about Taiwan and its culture, see examples of our past events, chat with TAP members at the booth, find out about how they can get involved, and take part in a fun Taiwanese activity. Our members are enthusiastic to interact with visitors of our booth so we invite everyone to stop by.”
TAP — which participates in a number of Asian festivals — is hosting the 20th Annual Taiwanese American Cultural Festival in Union Square on May 12, exactly one week before the street festival in Little Saigon.
Other festivals in which TAP participates include the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival — SFIAAFF — the nation’s largest Asian American film festival; the SF International Dragon Boat Festival; and the Asian American Donor Program’s event — AADP Laugh for Lives.
“These festivals all showcase unique parts of Asian American culture, just as AHSC does, so TAP is happy to support and be a part of each one,” said Tsao.
The festival will be held on May 19 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Civic Center/Little Saigon at Larkin and McAllister Streets. See the website at http://asianfairsf.com/ for more information.
