Jin the Emcee Rocks Asian Heritage Street Celebration

By Samson Wong SAN FRANCISCO - The city's South of Market neighborhood rocked to the beat of rapper Jin the Emcee, one of many headliners who entertained a crowd estimated at 90,000 for the third annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration. Lingering for autographs and photos, Jin said he "had a blast" during his half hour performance where he invited a few fans to be backup dancers. Jin performed "American Born Chinese" in Cantonese as he celebrated his roots in one of the nation's largest APA Heritage Month celebrations. "My parents are from Hong Kong," said Miami-born Jin. "Going back in the summer time [to Hong Kong] and at home we speak a lot of Cantonese; I was lucky enough at home to be exposed to it. ABC was a way for me to shine light on it," he said. The performance was among two stages of entertainment, exhibits, cultural wares and food. Organized by the AsianWeek Foundation working with more than 150 local and community groups, the fete showcased one of San Francisco's largest Filipino American neighborhoods. The Street Celebration has grown from 50,000 Japantown celebrants in 2005 to 80,000 partygoers last year in the Sunset, home to many immigrant Chinese American families. "This celebration brings together our community not from unity, but through diversity," said AsianWeek Foundation's Ted Fang. "It's amazing to witness and be a part of it." Annabel Park - a Korean American from Washington D.C. - set up a last-minute booth to mobilize Bay Area support for congressional legislation demanding an apology from Japan's government for committing atrocities against sex slaves during World War II. They attracted lines of supporters to sign letters supporting the apology in House Resolution 121, authored by Congressman Mike Honda of Santa Clara County. "We've been able to get 500 people to sign letters to (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and (Congressman) Tom Lantos," said Park. "Now we have a chance of having this resolution voted on next week," said Park. Nearby, Jay Pugao and volunteers of Project RIDE were giving away yo-yos and car air fresheners while passing the word about tobacco companies using fairs and car exhibitions to promote products. The fair's location had special meaning for Pugao, a supporter of theater arts through Bindlestiff Studios and Bayanihan. "I have a special attachment to the SoMA district, particularly since there is a large population of Filipino Americans," said Pugao. "We're organizing for our people, but at the same time we're a performance-based community. We like to entertain, to be entertained. We'd like to stand up and fight for our community." The festival was a first for volunteer and Pacifica elementary school teacher Patrick Chang. "It was great to see all these cultures interacting: it wasn't just a Chinese thing, or a Japanese thing, or a Vietnamese thing," Chang said. "It was really great to see this synergy at work." Nate Nevado, a San Francisco resident and college counselor, has come every year. "I've been here for the first two years when it first came out. It's good energy," he said. A student from Holland undulated with the rhythm of Jin the Emcee recalled her own roots. "It's great. It's great. All this attention to Asian culture and going together, coming together," said an effusive Felgina Jiong. "I'm an international student from Holland. I am also from Asian descent. My family is [from China]."

Asian American television reality TV stars among 300 people to get tested for Hep b at the AHSC!

Yul Kwon, winner of CBS's Survivor: Cook Islands (and new CNN correspondent) along with the Cho Brothers of CBS's Amazing Race 10, Miss San Jose 2007 Nicole Fox, San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, and members of the media were tested and vaccinated for hepatitis B during the Asian Heritage Street Celebration (AHSC) in San Francisco's SOMA district at 1025 Howard Street on Saturday, May 19th, 2007. The Asian Liver Center at Stanford University provided free hepatitis B screenings and vaccinations were available for $20 per shot. These  screenings and vaccinations are a major step for San Francisco Hep B Free, a two-year-long campaign for the city to become the first in the nation to screen, vaccinate, and treat all Asian Pacific American (APA) residents for Hepatitis B (HBV). A major collaborative effort of city government, private healthcare, and more than 50 health and APA community organizations, San Francisco Hep B Free was launched on April 25, 2007 with a press conference and community dinner featuring Mayor Gavin Newson; Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting; Supervisor Ed Jew; Dr. Mitch Katz, Director, SF Department of Public Health; Dr. Samuel So, Director of Asian Liver Center at Stanford University; and Ted Fang, Director of AsianWeek Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.sfhepbfree.org. "Awareness of the hepatitis B campaign is critical to the health and well-being of all Asians," said Yul Kwon, Survivor: Cook Islands. "I am proud to be involved in this very important issue in the APA community." San Francisco's APA residents comprise of 34% of the city's population and bear a disproportionate burden of many undetected HBV infections and the highest liver cancer rate in the nation. While about 1 in 1,000 of the general US population has chronic HBV infection, 1 in 10 people in the API community are potentially living with an undiagnosed infection. APIs are 100 times more likely to suffer from chronic HBV infection and four times more likely to die from liver cancer compared with the general population. "SF Hep B Free is an extraordinary campaign with a message for all APAs," said Erwin Cho, Amazing Race 10. "Simply by getting the word out about how widespread hepatitis B is, and then encouraging people to get tested and vaccinated, we will be one step closer to eliminating this disease."

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Sponsor Highlight: Project Ride

Project RIDE's mission is to bring together young Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (API) from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond with a love for cars and racing to protect both their communities and the automotive scene from the tobacco industry, and to promote young Asian Americans as advocates and leaders by transforming their participation in the import car culture as a way to make meaningful and proactive changes in their communities.   RIDE is made up of a nationwide network of 300+ youth and young adults volunteers who are import car enthusiasts.  RIDE volunteers transform their love of cars into something positive for their community and for younger sisters and brothers by presenting and showcasing their beautifully customized cars at schools and community events with RIDE's anti-tobacco messages.  The RIDE volunteers participate as change-agents focused on a widespread community of Asian Americans, youth, and an even larger multi-demographic audience of import auto-enthusiasts.   RIDE focuses on community building, leadership training, anti-tobacco sponsorship policy making, and community outreaching to stop tobacco industry targeting the import car community and Asian American community.

AHSC Prize Winners

School Raffle Winners The Asian Heritage Street Celebration would like to congratulate all our School Raffle Fundraiser winners! All winners will be contacted by next week to receive their prizes. Thank you to everyone who helped support San Francisco public schools by purchasing a ticket. 1.    Two Roundtrip tickets anywhere on Southwest Airlines - John Chang 2.    Two Roundtrip tickets anywhere on Southwest Airlines - Janet Wu 3.    Two Roundtrip tickets anywhere on Southwest Airlines - Sara Marcopulos 4.    Nintendo Wii Console System - Ericka Hernandez 5.    DVD Player/Karaoke System w/ Wireless Microphone - Brian Tam 6.    24 Hour Fitness 6 Month Membership (valued at $300) - Windy Huynh 7.    24 Hour Fitness 6 Month Membership - Wendy Cheung 8.    24 Hour Fitness 6 Month Membership - Ben Heyuan 9.    Pair of San Francisco Giants Season Passes - Patrick Chin 10.    Pair of San Francisco Giants Season Passes - Eamon Di 11.    $100 Dinner Gift Certificate from Tommy Toy's Restaurant - Jenny Lau 12.    9 Week Mandarin Class Summer Session (valued at $200) - Timonthy Loo 13.    $100 Gift Basket from Charles Chocolates - Jeffrey Burgos 14.    $75 Dinner for 2 from Le Central Restaurant - Richard Nguyen 15.    California Academy of Sciences Family Membership (valued at $60) - Tom Lovrin 16.    $50 Stumasa Home Furnishings Gift Certificate - Karen Lee 17.    $50 Stumasa Home Furnishings Gift Certificate - Michelle Powers 18.    Con Air Home Pedicure Massage Foot Spa - Simon Hu 19.    Godinger Silver Plated 5 Piece Vanity Set - Daniel Wong 20.    Jeanne Magic Show - Connie Gong 21.    ParaSpa Select Heat Therapy Home Bath - Linda Wang 22.    Express Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker - Rosa Fong 23.    Fellowes Paper Shredder - Daniel Wang 24.    DVD Anime 4 Pack - Ninja Scroll and Strange Dawn - Patrick Ho 25.    Forever Collectibles Limited Edition Barry Bonds Bobble Head - Jeffrey Burgos Arts and Crafts Contest Winners This year the Asian Heritage Street Celebration held its first annual Arts & Crafts Booth Contest. All arts & crafts vendors at this past Saturday's event were automatically entered. Booths were judged on criteria such as the attractiveness of booth displays and the uniqueness of products. Judges from the Cherry Blossom Festival and Street Fair, Autumn Moon Festival and Street Fair, Haight & Ashbury Street Fair, and the Asian Heritage Street Celebration visited all arts & crafts booths to select this year's three winners. Congratulations to our winners and to all of this year's vendors for their beautiful booths and unique items. 1st Place of $500 Cash Prize and an Article in AsianWeek newspaper: Brass Orchids- With their elaborate silk floral arrangements, handmade greeting cards and vintage wood items, Brass Orchids' booth represented nature, beauty and creativity. 2nd Place of $300 Hampton Creative Designs- With wooden dragons hanging from the ceiling of their tent, carefully arranged handmade paper products covering nearly a whole tent side, carved croaking frogs (which Vilawal Hampton was always happy to demonstrate to people) and delicate flowers made of fish scales, this booth's unique items attracted many visitors. 3rd Place of $200 Nancy Funk: Selling soaps in bold colors and Asian-themed shapes, from sumo wrestlers, to sushi and dragons, this booth was full of fun and imagination. Honorable mentions are also extended to the following vendors for their displays and products: In Character Asian Calligraphy Little Buddha Baby Escolta Fine Arts Lolita Kisama Karaoke Contest Winners First Place: Rikki Gordon sang "Brickhouse" Second Place: Bill Cantwell sang "Peaceful Easy Feeling" Third Place: Jennifer Carlos sang "If I Ain't Got You" Fourth Place: Hong Kwon sang "Careless Whisper"

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