North Texas Celebrate the 2015 Asian Pacific Heritage Month in May

Dallas, TX – The North Texas communities celebrate the 2015 Asian Pacific Heritage Month in May with multiple festivals, downtown Dallas and Plano. Lion dance, martial arts, cultural dances and performances graced the stage at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas and Haggard Park in Plano on Saturday, May 2^nd. The FREE events showcase authentic Asian cultural entertainment and activities for children in a daylong festival celebrating the National Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

The audiences at Dallas Asian Festival were welcome by the City of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, while Council Member David Downs from the City of Plano greets his crowds at the AsiaFest 2015. These fun, colorful and festive events bring together North Texas Asian cultures while creating a diverse marketplace featuring native arts & crafts, music, dance, food, health/wellness and yoga, martial arts and children’s activities. This year, Dallas Asian Festival, hosted by the Crow Collection of Asian Art and the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce, did not provide any food booth or corner represented by the different Asian countries, except for the food trucks that are park along-side the park. The Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration is not quite the same without the unique cuisines from Indonesia, Korea, China, India, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines and other Asian countries.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a month to celebrate and pay tribute to the contributions generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders have made to American history, society, food and culture.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month originated in 1978 when Congress passed Pub. L. 95-419 (PDF, 63KB). This law directed the President to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning on May 4, 1979 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. On March 28, 1979, President Carter issued Presidential Proclamation 4650. In this proclamation, President Carter spoke of the significant role Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have played in the creation of a dynamic and pluralistic American society with their contributions to the sciences, arts, industry, government and commerce.

Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific 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-Pacific American 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. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month America!

Above: Dallas Asian Festival

Above: Plano AsiaFest (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

Above: Dallas Asian Festival (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

Above: City of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings at Dallas Asian Festival

Above: Council Member David Downs from the City of Plano at AsiaFest (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

Above: Dallas Asian Festival

Above: Plano AsiaFest (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

Above: Dallas Asian Festival

Above: Plano AsiaFest (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

Above: Dallas Asian Festival

Above: Dallas Asian Festival (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

Above: Dallas Asian Festival

Above: Plano AsiaFest (Photography by Dr. Jarvis Jacobs)

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