Dallas 2012 Asian Festival

May brought cloudy day for the 22nd year of the Asian Festival in Dallas, TX, the largest Asian cultural celebration in the Dallas and surrounding cities.  It is a FREE family event presenting authentic Asian cuisines, cultural performances, children activities, health fair, games and many other activities.

Each year, the Asian Festival attracts thousands of people from all over the Dallas metroplex.  It will showcase more than 30 Asian cultural performances and will involve more than 17 community organizations.  The Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce organized the Dallas Asian Festival but sponsors, like MetroPCS, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, donate the financial backing to make the event happen.

Located at Main Street Garden in downtown Dallas, the Asian Festival not only showcase a glimsed into the vibrant North Texas Asian Cultures but also celebrate Asian American Heritage Month in May.  Like most commemorative months, Asian American and Pacific Islander 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 American and Pacific Islander 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.

It is significant that attendance has been growing every year at the Asian Festival.  The Festival attracts approximately 10,000 visitors every year.

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