-Ceremony to take Place at 1pm on Ellis St. Stage at May 16 event-

SAN FRANCISCO, May 8, 2009 – Fifty students will be awarded for excellence in nutrition and fitness at the 5th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration on Saturday, May 16, 2009. An awards ceremony will take place at 1 PM on the Ellis Street Stage on Larkin and Ellis Streets with an opening performance by the fourth- and fifth grade students of Argonne Elementary School, and former interim superintendent Gwen Chan and Kimochi, Inc. executive director Steve Nakajo will co-present the awards to students representing over 12 San Francisco Unified School Districts.

Argonne Elementary School’s young performers have spent the past five months in intense choreography training for this presentation, and will regale the audience with hip hop dance and drumming presentations.

The AHSC has hosted the annual SFUSD Student Awards Program since 2005, and recognizes excellence in students of Asian Pacific Islander heritage in categories including community service, athletics, visual and performing arts, and green science. Each year, the AHSC invites all San Francisco K-12 schools to nominate at least two students for the award program. This year’s participating schools include: Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, Balboa High School, E.R. Taylor Elementary School, Independence High School, Jefferson Elementary School, Jose Ortega Elementary School, Lawton Alternative School, Log Cabin High School, Sheridan Elementary School, Spring Valley Elementary School, Sunset Elementary, and Washington High School.

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About the Asian Heritage Street Celebration
The Asian Heritage Street Celebration is organized by the AsianWeek Foundation in cooperation with over 150 organizations in the local and Asian American community. It is the largest outdoor
gathering of Asians in America and features arts and crafts vendors, two stages for live performances, carnival rides, import car shows, a kickboxing ring, Asian food vendors and more. This year’s sponsors include California Pacific Medical Center, Subaru, Brown and Toland Medical Group, Comcast, Kaiser Permanente, Visa, AT&T, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Golden Gate Disposal, San Francisco Chronicle, CBS 5/CW Bay Area, AsianWeek, Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, BART, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The AsianWeek Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 committed to developing Asian American community. All proceeds from the Celebration are donated to local and national charities.
www.asianfairsf.com