No one can say for certain if it was the exciting Taiko drumming, the rhythmic Lion and Pacific Island dancers, or even DJ Ace Marasigan (GR Asian-Pacific Festival’s director) mixing Asian dance music. But regardless of the reasons why you and others loved the 2017 Asian-Pacific Festival, it is back. And this year contains a full week of activities centered around the celebration of our Asian-Pacific members of our society.
The annual Asian-Pacific Festival seeks to embrace the rich traditions and culture of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans with a week of activity to is certain to inspire, educate, and celebrate this community.
Events planned for this week include:
Monday, June 4: Kick off the festival week with stop at the
Asian Art exhibition and reception at DeVos Place.
Tuesday, June 5: An
Evening of Bangladeshi Dance and Music at the UICA.
Thursday, June 7: At noon, you can
Relax at Rosa as this summer music series welcomes Kevin Michael Jones with local food trucks, including the locally popular with foodies Sanse Filipino Cuisine truck.
Also, on Thursday, June 7:
Grand Rapids Art Museum extends free admission from 5 to 9 p.m., where guests can see featured art by Pakistani-American Anila Agha, former ArtPrize winner.
Friday, June 8: The downtown JW Marriott welcomes
Real Sumo at this special Asians Night Out After Party with DJ Ace Marasigan and DJ Bobolai (Brian Lai). Purchase tickets in advance
here.
Saturday, June 9: At Rosa Parks Circle from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., the second annual
Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival 2018 presented by Old National Bank and West Michigan Asian American Association begins. For a complete listing of performers, visit their website.
The city may be growing larger with each year, but it is thrilling to see with all the expansion that we still are making room for members of our society to feel welcome here. Don’t miss out on all the fun heading to Grand Rapids for the 2018 Asian-Pacific Festival.