What is the Asian/Pacific American Heritage Festival?

The Asian/Pacific American (A/PA) Heritage Festival is a community festival with music, performances, food, and family fun.

Why did you guys start it?

We started in 1979 when we understood deeply the fragility of immigrant populations in accessing state and local resources. Oftentimes, the best of these community resources were under-utilized because there is no efficient way to communicate the availability of these resources to their constituents. Many community members did not know about the resources available to them--whether they are language centers, educational facilities, child services, legal, medical, or vocational.

Volunteers realized that was easier to have a great celebration and have people come out and spark dialogue than entering communities to distribute resource directories. At the time of this writing, we have been doing it for 31 years!

Who organizes it and how long have you been around?

We fundamentally believe in the power of innovative problem solving—what celebrating everything that a community has to offer—its food, music, and culture.

How can I help?

We are a very selective group of passionate social entrepreneurs; fill out an application form here: