Press Release

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2022

Contact:

Peter Weng

Tam Welch

aapiSantaCruz@gmail.com

831 222 0092

FIRST ANNUAL SANTA CRUZ ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE FESTIVAL

SANTA CRUZ, CA - Santa Cruz County’s first annual Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Festival will be a free public event held on Saturday May 21, 2022, 11am-5pm at the 418 Project located at 155 South River Street, Santa Cruz and will include speakers, music, workshops, and local AAPI food vendors at the 418 Project on 155 South River St, Santa Cruz. Additionally, there will be art displays and exhibits at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History during the month of May.

During the festival, there will be a showing of the “Lost Chinatowns” film and performance piece created by local artist Cynthia Lee, a workshop on handling microaggressions by student leaders Laura Wang and Thu-Ha Cao, an intergenerational social mixer for community connection, and introductions from local community leaders including a Mayoral Proclamation by Santa Cruz Mayor Sonja Brunner declaring the month of May Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month in the city of Santa Cruz.

“This event helps us acknowledge the long history of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in Santa Cruz and recognize the connection to the land and those who sustain us past and present,” shared Tam Welch, festival co-lead. “The location is the site of the last Santa Cruz Chinatown and seems a fitting place for us to bring people together to celebrate, eat, and learn together,” added festival co-lead Peter Weng.

The event is being organized by the Asian American Pacific Islander Collective, Santa Cruz (aapisc.org), which has organized the anti-hate vigil and memorial events for the county, with generous support from the 418 Project and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. The festival is open to the public and all are invited to attend. Event information can be found at aapisc.org/festival.