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Asian & Pacific Islander Festival Returns to the Fair
Your pulse pounds as the sound fills the air, steadily growing in intensity as you clench your fists in anticipation. The crowd watches in rapt fascination, ever growing in number, eager to see what’s coming their way. You hear a gasp, and a squeal of excitement as the thunderous sound grows louder. It’s getting nearer. Your eyes widen in excitement as you catch your first glimpse of beating drumsticks and colorful uniforms. At last it’s before you, as the streets of the L.A. County Fair come to vibrant life with the sound of drums and the dancing of Asian dragons. The Asian & Pacific Islander Festival has returned for the sixth year in a row but this year it will have a new look!
The L.A. County Fair will take place from September 12 – 28, at Fairplex located at 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Situated just south of the Clocktower, within the Festival Plaza area of Fairplex, the Asian & Pacific Islander Festival will be opening the Fair for the first three days, September 12-14. As in the past, the Festival will feature performers, artists, and craftsmen from more than 12 different Asian and Pacific Islander communities, providing an opportunity to explore a diversity of Eastern cultures that is unrivaled in all of Southern California.
The featured performance for this year’s Asian & Pacific Islander Festival is “Legend of the Moon”. On Saturday and Sunday, the Asian Festival will present various dramatic action performances celebrating and telling the story of the legend of the moon every two hours from 1-7 p.m.
“This year’s festival is an event that one should not miss!”, said Tom Leung, the program director of the Festival. “We have a chance to show off what Asians are all about. Asians need to be recognized for our participation in the communities in which we live and proudly share our invaluable culture with main-stream America.”
Other performers that have been confirmed include the popular lion and long dragon dances, Indonesian martial ensemble, Japanese taiko drums, Taiwanese aborigian dance, Malaysia multi-state dances, sumo fighting, Muay Thai kick-boxing, and the Pacific Islander performances. A stroll down Silk Road Cultural Lane will reveal a multitude of cultural exhibits, including Indonesian wood furniture, Burmese Jade, Thai silk flowers, Chinese lanterns, demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy, and many other family fun activities.
The 2003 Festival sponsors include Kaiser Permanente, AltaMed, San Gabriel Valley Water Districts, Natural Jade, Hawaiian Tropical Drink, B’s Sports Bar, JPI Design, and Golden Optometry Center.
In addition, all schools that attend the Festival will be given a Marco Polo year-round educational package sponsored this year by a major grant from Verizon. This is an educational program under the Titan Foundation to help students learn more about the Asian arts and culture. Other sponsors include Longo Toyota, San Gabriel Valley Free Trade Zone and the San Gabriel Valley International Business Incubator.
Special discount tickets are available for the Fair at various Asian and Pacific Islander Festival ticket outlets at the following locations: Golden Optical Centers located at 1015 S. Nogales St. #109A, Rowland Heights, (626)965-
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