Our newest Community Impact Partner, The Edina Asian American Alliance (EAAA), will host its annual Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month Festival: Visibility, Community, and Pure Celebration, on Saturday, May 27.
The Festival is open to all who wish to celebrate our Asian Edina/Minnesota cultures and contributions alongside friends and neighbors.
The event will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, at Rosland Park. The program is organized to highlight the rich cultures, voices, and strengths of the local Asian Edina/Minnesota community, as well as the partnerships, friendships, and coalitions that EAAA has built this past year.
Featured speakers include:
AshaUSA Executive Director Sayali Amarapurkar
Asian American Unity Coalition (AAUC) President SK Lo
Chinese Community Center (CCC) Executive Director and Minnesota International Chinese School (MICS) Principal Melody Zhou
City of Edina Mayor Jim Hovland
Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) Executive Director ThaoMee Xiong
Edina High School Asian American Pacific Islander Student Union (AAPISU) Co-Presidents Lexi Han, Emily Leung, and Sabeeh Mirza
Edina State Representative Heather Edelson
India Association of Minnesota (IAM) President Tanwi Prigge
Korean Institute of Minnesota (KIM) Director Jennifer Arndt-Johns
Featured performances include:
DTG Lions
Edina's Desi Dance Group
JangmiArts
Master Chang's Yong-in Martial Arts
School of India for Languages and Culture (SILC)
TaikoArts Midwest
Featured participants include small businesses, nonprofits, schools and community organizations, such as:
Anti-Racism Collective
Black Student Union (BSU)
Eggroll Queen
Inherited Stories
Ku•ma•in
League of Women Voters of Edina (LWVE)
Num Nuts
Edina Elementary School families will host featured cultural tables celebrating our rich Asian/Edina heritages. The Festival will conclude with naming the first recipient of EAAA's Teacher of the Year Recognition.
The Festival is free and open to the public and includes a book giveaway for the first 100 attendees, thanks to the Friends of the Edina Library: local author Bao Phi's Caldecott Honor Book, A Different Pond and You Are Life (both published by Capstone Press). Additional EAAA sponsors include Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL); Edina Community Foundation (ECF); Master Chang's Yong-in Martial Arts; and The Petal.