-largest APA Heritage Month celebration nationwide-

SAN FRANCISCO (May 16, 2009) - The largest gathering of Asian Pacific Americans in the nation is back and bigger than ever, featuring more Asian American artists, more DJs, more martial arts, J-cars, a karaoke contest, anime, and FREE hepatitis B. New features this year include an Asian Heritage Street Celebration (AHSC) Best Dance Crew Contest, and family-friendly carnival rides and games for children.

The 5th annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration will be held Saturday, May 16, 2009, in San Francisco’s Civic Center in front of the Asian Art Museum, leading up to the Little Saigon District. The fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and is presented by California Pacific Medical Center and Subaru.

The goal of the AHSC is to promote and foster pan-Asian Pacific American identity by bringing together communities and encouraging dialogue and sharing of diversity. In the five years since its inception, the AHSC has quickly become the United States’ largest assemblage of APAs — drawing over 80,000 people annually to the annual weekend event.

The AHSC is also the only outdoor event in the Bay Area to rotate its location each year to best showcase both the diversity of San Francisco’s neighborhoods and its API residents and businesses. Starting in Japantown, the AHSC moved to the Sunset District’s Chinese community, paid homage to the large Filipino community in the South of Market area in its third year, and returned to Japantown in 2008. This year, the AHSC celebrates San Francisco’s Little Saigon and the Vietnamese community.

“We are very excited to see the Asian Heritage Street Celebration to come to the Little Saigon Cultural & Commercial District, ” says Philip Nguyen of the Southeast Asian Community Center. ” We welcome this fair heartily, which will help promote not only Little Saigon, but also the whole Southeast Asian community of the Tenderloin, and of the city of San Francisco.”

Lan Le, of the Vietnamese Community Center of San Francisco, says he hopes the fair will raise awareness of the Vietnamese community and help kick-start the area’s many Vietnamese businesses to become a “must see” in The City.

San Francisco’s Little Saigon is composed of two blocks on Larkin Street between Eddy and O’Farrell Streets, and was made official four years ago. Approximately 2,000 of the city’s 13,000 Vietnamese Americans live in the Little Saigon district of the greater Tenderloin district, with many arriving following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Vietnamese Americans have since made themselves at home, and operate at least 250 businesses in the area.

To pay homage to the Vietnamese community, the San Francisco Little Saigon Gate— two eight-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.

“It is a testament to the vision and dedication of the Vietnamese community in San Francisco that our Little Saigon is the setting of this year’s Asian Heritage Street Celebration, ” said Steve Ngo, the city’s first Vietnamese American elected official and San Francisco City College Board Member. ” What a wonderful occasion!”

The AHSC returns all proceeds to various Asian communities, including newer and underserved communities as Cambodians and Samoans, as well as more established populations. The AHSC has donated more than $50,000 to over 40 Bay Area community groups and charities, who are selected for their role in assembling diverse elements within the Asian Pacific American community. Fundraising for San Francisco public schools is another mission of the Celebration, which has created a raffle program with the goal of teaching children about community philanthropy at an early age. The AHSC provides prizes and administrative support for students and school groups to sell raffle tickets, and all proceeds are returned to participating schools.

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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 show, 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 Union, 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.