SAN FRANCISCO — The fourth annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Proclamation Signing Ceremony and Reception, hosted by the APA Heritage Celebration Committee, took place at the Herbst Theatre inside the War Memorial Veterans Building on May 5.
Approximately 400 people filled the room to enjoy performances by Funkanometry, Dance Naganuma, Tracy Sarmiento, and Eddy Zheng, along with talks from State Controller John Chiang and author and scholar Helen Zia.
On the mayor’s behalf, City Administrator Ed Lee along with Supervisor Carmen Chu presented the Heritage Committee with Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proclamation honoring APA Heritage Month.
“It is important to have this celebration, to give political visibility to our community,” said Claudine Cheng, founder and co-chair of the Heritage Committee. “As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the federal legislation that launched this annual celebration, our committee is committed to raising public awareness of APA Heritage Month.”
The committee presented AsianWeek’s editor and publisher, Ted Fang, with the 2008 APA Heritage Award for his work in educating and raising awareness about hepatitis B, the greatest health disparity for Asian/Pacific Islanders, through the S.F. Hep B Free Campaign, and in organizing the annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration that will take place May 17 in Japantown.
The event concluded with a beautiful and colorful cultural procession in which participants dressed in various Asian ethnic attire filled the stage, swaying back and forth to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Getting to Know You.”
Photo of APA Heritage Month Proclamation Signing Ceremony and Reception, May 5 in San Francisco.