Celebrations for AAPI Heritage Month began over the weekend in San Francisco, California, NBC News Bay Area reports. Events for the month will be held throughout all of May.
A pop-up event full of vendors, music and performances was held in San Francisco’s Japantown on Saturday.
“I think it’s amazing,” Oakland resident Peter Tubig told NBC News Bay Area. “I was able to learn about the different dances traditions. I think it’s been really good.”
According to the SF Standard, AAPI Heritage Month has been celebrated nationally for 45 years but San Francisco has only recognized the month since 2005. Several more events are planned for the area including a film festival called CAAMFest (May 11-21).
“We need to take the opportunity to strengthen ourselves,” Claudine Cheng, the founder of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation told SF Standard. “We may have different cultures, history, heritage, but you know, we have one API community.”
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