Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego

The Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego will celebrate it's 2nd year as San Diego's celebration for Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month on Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 10am to 6pm at the NTC Park at Liberty Station.  Presented by the NAAC and produced by Silk Road Productions.

About Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.

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 transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. (Source: http://asianpacificheritage.gov/about.html)

Goals of the Festival

The Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego aims to:

1. Represent San Diego's participation in Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.
2. Celebrate and unify the diversity of San Diego's Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
3. Educate and share with non-API's the arts and traditions of our culture as a vehicle to engage and create dialog around Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.
4. Create awareness for the programs of the National Asian American Coalition, that enrich communities through economic development and homeownership workshops.
5. Generate funding to support those programs.

Milestones of the Festival

First ACFSD: May 8th, 2010
Attendance: 6,000 people
Participating San Diego County Dignitaries:
Bob Filner - Representative of California's 51st congressional district
Marty Block - California State Assembly Member for the 78th District
Ron Roberts - San Diego County Board of Supervisors - Fourth District
Todd Gloria - San Diego Council Member for District 3
Tony Young - San Diego Council District 4 - Council President

The Asian Cultural Festival Committee

Lead by Silk Road Productions, ACF is organized by a coalition of future community leaders who represent or have worked with and for local nonprofits.  Many of our committee have been recognized by the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, and the US Congress for their service to community.