It’s May, which means Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is here. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) is celebrated in May to commemorate the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States. Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. In 1990 Congress voted to expand it from a week to a month long celebration and in May 1992, the month of May was permanently designated as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.”

Events:

• Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego Liberty Station: NTC Park in San Diego, California, May 8, 2010
• Seattle Chinatown ID Preservation & Development Authority Spring Roll: Party Down for Chinatown, May 24, 2010 at Union Station, Seattle
• Wing Luke Asian Museum celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
• Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival
• VC FILMFEST: The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, May 3 – May 10
• Annual Pacific Rim Street Fest – May 17, 2009
• Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival, May 9-18
• Asian Awareness Month, May 9, Florida State University
• National Asian Heritage Festival – Fiesta Asia, May 16, 2009
• Asian Heritage Street Celebration, May 16, 2009
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, May 2-31, 2009
• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration, Sponsored by Asian American Cultural Center at University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, May 2, 2010, 2-4p.m.