More than 1,000 people mingled and learned about each other’s cultures at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage celebration May 19 at the Sandhills Global Event Center, 84th and Havelock Avenue.
“The Asian Center puts on this event to build a mutual understanding between the immigrant community and local Lincoln residents,” said Rebecca Reinhardt, cultural program coordinator for the Asian Community and Cultural Center of Lincoln. “Our mission at the Asian Center is to support all immigrants and refugees, and to provide cultural services to the community.
“This AAPI Heritage Month is a nationwide celebration, and our event also honors the contributions that immigrants and refugees give to the United States, particularly those from Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage.”
Twelve cultural performance groups provided 15 ethnic performances. For the first time at the AAPI event, the Asian Community and Cultural Center performed a dragon consecration ceremony and dragon dance to showcase the cultural significance of the Year of the Dragon. Another first this year was an Afghan traditional performance of “Atan” demonstrated by a group of Afghan men.
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Other cultural performances included a Chinese fashion show, Japanese drumming, a taekwondo demonstration, “Dunhuang” kids’ dance, Karen bamboo dance, Vietnamese and Arabic folk dances, and lion, Tibetan, Indian Bollywood and Thai dances.
The Golden Studio Band, a Lincoln-based band ensemble of Yazidi musicians, performed live music, and the Vietnamese Women’s Group sang Vietnamese songs.
The event also included 21 local organizations providing service information, a Ukrainian cultural demonstration table, cultural gifts for sale, and free haircuts, balloon twists, henna tattoos and face-painting for kids and families.
Local restaurants and individuals provided seven diverse types of food for guests to taste for free.
Nine sponsors funded the event. “They are the ones that made our event possible,” Reinhardt said, adding that 26 staff members and 20 volunteers helped set up before the event and clean up afterward.
For more information about the Asian Community and Cultural Center, visit www.lincolnasian center.org or contact Reinhardt at 402-477-3446 or rebecca@lincolnasiancenter.org.