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The Asian Heritage Street Celebration will be welcoming back Muay Thai kickboxing as one of the many exciting entertainment options available to fairgoers this year. The free event will showcase the talent of many mixed martial artists, champions and amateurs alike and will take place on Ellis and Larkin Streets.

World Team USA has taken the opportunity to once again host the exhibit and they not only hope to wow the crowd, but also open their eyes to the sport they enjoy.

World Team USA has been training fighters the art of Muay Thai in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than ten years. Kru Sam (Chilaphanh) Phimsoutham, the chief instructor and owner of the gym, trained under the well-known Master Toddy and brought his innate ability to teach to the Bay Area.

In its first decade of operation, World Team USA has produced champions in the art of Muay Thai, and expects to add Mixed Martial Arts fighters to that list with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, judo training, san shou, kung fu and karate.

Each year the free exhibition of Muay Thai kickboxing, the national sport of Thailand and is famous for its eight devastating weapon-like kicks, elbow strikes, knees and punches has grown in popularity, as well as other fighting styles.

With an even larger expected attendance this year of over 100,000 patrons, expect the adrenaline to be flowing inside out of the ring. Come visit first hand at the fighting ring to see why everyone ritually comes and sees this sport, consecutively returning on its fourth year at the AHSC since 2007!

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Each year, the Asian Heritage Celebration works with a wide cross-section of television stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and websites that serve the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. These partnering media groups are the backbone of the Street Celebration’s outreach efforts and are key to disseminating news and information to the API communities.
We are proud of our relationships with these media and thank them for their support and contributions.
channelAPA.com
ChannelAPA.com is dedicated to promoting Asian American artists.  The entertainment-focused site broadcasts daily. Visit channelAPA.com to watch the latest videos online.
DingDingTV
Ding Ding TV is the first Chinese-language internet television station in the Silicon Valley. Ding Ding TV’s mission is to be a leading website providing multimedia entertainment and information to the Chinese communities in San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Goldlink Radio
Evening News Talk broadcasts weeknights from 9 to 10 p.m., focusing on community news, political commentary, and global economic topics. It is widely broadcast in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Updated community information is provided daily.
Hyphen
Hyphen is a magazine about Asian America for the culturally and politically savvy. Built around a clarity of image, word and social awareness, Hyphen takes form from the artists, thinkers and creators who are shaping a new multiethnic generation.
Much like the hyphen connects words and concepts, Hyphen magazine connects readers with Asian America as it happens.
The Korea Times, San Francisco
The Korea Times, San Francisco was established in 1970 as a bridge between Korean Americans and the larger community. It is the largest Korean-language newspaper in Northern California, with the largest subscription and circulation base in both local and national markets.
KTSF-TV
KTSF-TV is California’s largest multilingual television station serving the Asian American marketplace. Established in 1976, KTSF provides news, information and entertainment in fourteen languages, including Vietnamese, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean and Hindi. KTSF is the only broadcaster in the United States to air nightly, live Mandarin- and Cantonese-language newscasts.
Myx TV
MYX is the only Asian American music and entertainment channel on television and the biggest media supporter of Asian Pacific American community groups. This month, MYX is organizing the biggest event in Asian American Heritage Month history with “Comcast presents MYX Mash” on Saturday May 22 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Starring T-Pain, the Brown Eyed Girls (of Korea), and Bruno Mars.
Tickets are available at cityboxoffice.com. Details at www.myx.tv.
News for Chinese
News for Chinese is the first free Chinese-language community newspaper published in the Bay Area Peninsula. Its coverage area includes South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo, Foster City, Belmont, Redwood City, Atherton, Menlo Park, Mountain View and Palo Alto. News for Chinese reaches an estimated 100,000 Chinese readers through its 150 distribution locations twice a month. Its mission is to publish lively, local neighborhood news that are integral to our Chinese community.
Philippine Fiesta
The Philippine Fiesta is a Filipino American community newspaper published two Fridays a month by Five D’s Arts, LLC. Established in May 2002, the paper provides perspectives on issues affecting Filipino Americans and their involvement in the greater community. Based in Sacramento, the publication reaches readers in the surrounding areas of Elk Grove, Rocklin, Stockton, Vallejo, San Francisco and San Jose.

Philippine News
Philippine News was established in 1961 to serve as a link among Filipino communities across America. 48 years later, it continues to be the only Filipino American newspaper to offer news and information relevant to the needs of the community it serves.
SanFranciscoChinatown.com
SanFranciscoChinatown.com is a resource for both locals and tourists. Users can you learn about the heritage and culture of San Francisco’s Chinatown, as well as book tours and hotels online.
SF Station
SF Station is the San Francisco Bay Area’s definitive online city guide to arts and culture, entertainment, food, shopping, and urban living for 18 - 45 year old “socially active” users. Since 1996, SF Station has been providing users with comprehensive and up-to-the-minute event calendar listings, a dynamic business directory, and a “hip and progressive” editorial voice that reviews anything from films, music shows, restaurants, retail shops, and more.
Sing Tao
Sing Tao Daily presents readers with comprehensive local, national, and international news of particular interest to the Bay Area Chinese, and most important news from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
USAsianWire
U.S. Asian Wire, Inc., is America’s most comprehensive targeted newswire, founded in 2006 by Leslie Yngojo-Bowes. U.S. Asian Wire specializes in distributing news releases and multimedia content reaching Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander media outlets and organizations.
World Channel
Programming includes drama series, Chinese news reports, variety shows and locally-produced entertainment and financial programs.

World Journal
World Journal is the largest Chinese language daily newspaper in the U.S. since 1976. It distributes to all 50 states, and covers local, national, international and Asian news, including breaking, political, economic, sport, entertainment and life sections. As one of the most trusted source of information for the local Chinese community, World Journal also publishes Weekly magazine, Star magazine and Ming magazine.

Jeanelle Chang contributed to this report.

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Come root for the San Francisco Giants and support SF Hep B Free - a citywide effort to screen and vaccinate all Asian and Pacific Islanders for hepatitis B. A portion of ticket sales from three of the Giants May Asian heritage night games will benefit SF Hep B Free!

Come to the official After Party of this Friday’s game!
Details below.
SF Giants Japanese Heritage Night
Friday, 5/14 vs. HOU at 7:15pm
Japanese culture has always resonated strongly with both the city of San Francisco and the sport of baseball, so what better way to celebrate than at a Giants game? The Japanese Heritage Night sake tasting festival returns for year two, with a brand new piece for your Giants’ sake set collection: a Giants-themed individual sake glass and masu (wooden box). This special-edition item is included in the price of your ticket, along with entrance to the pre-game festival with complimentary tastes, and a seat in the special Japanese Heritage section at the game. Cultural performers will entertain fans at the festival and on the field pre-game, and ticket proceeds will benefit local Japanese charities. The sake-tasting festival ends when the game starts, so get there early!

BUY TICKETS NOW: http://purchase.tickets.com
Prior to this game, there will be a special home plate ceremony with members of the campaign. Come out and show your support for Hep B awareness on Friday May 14!
Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, former Giants outfielder Dave Roberts, and Dr. Sam So, of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford at a 2008 game.

GIANTS JAPANESE HERITAGE & SF HEP B FREE NIGHT AFTER PARTY

WHERE: Circolo Restaurant and Lounge
500 Florida Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
www.circolosf.com
WHEN: Friday, May 14, 10pm-2am
WHY: A portion of bar tab sales will benefit SF Hep B Free’s efforts to screen and vaccinate all Asian and Pacific Islanders for Hepatitis B.
SF Giants Chinese Heritage Night

Tuesday, 5/25vs. WAS at 7:15pm
Join the Giants on Chinese Heritage Night for the first in a planned series of events celebrating the Chinese Zodiac! Along with a ticket to the game, seat in the Chinese Heritage section, and pre-game cultural entertainment, all special event ticket holders will receive a collector’s edition Giants-themed “Year of the Tiger” figurine. Ticket proceeds will also benefit local Chinese charities, so don’t miss your opportunity to celebrate the Bay Area’s rich Chinese heritage and support a good cause!
BUY TICKETS NOW: http://purchase.tickets.com
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On June 7th, 2010, the Minority Business Enterprise Center funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce MBDA, and the Business Owners Space will host a finance and business conference to celebrate the Asian American Small Businesses. The MBEC goal is to grow and promote Minority Business Enterprises of all sizes and is the only federal agency that specifically caters to Minority Businesses in the U.S. Business Owners Space is a collaborative partnership among more than two dozen public, private, and non-profit agencies and businesses — all pursuing the same goal:  to help new and small business owners and entrepreneurs achieve success.
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Funny how immigration has become the issue gripping all of us “professional ethnicists” during this Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

How’s this for a replication of the Nueva Arizona experience? When someone asks me for my papers I’m all ready with a standard reply:

“Papers? I don’t have any — not since AsianWeek folded.”

(By the way, since its passing, I have gone all digital with the 21st Century Amok column that you can follow it as it develops 24-7 by going to www.twitter.com/emilamok. You can also check out my blog at www.amok.com. )

While May is normally our time on the ethnic calendar, the subject of immigration has turned this into the season to join other people of color and stand united against Arizona’s xenophobic law. The law’s fair only if everyone can equally be suspected of being here illegally. Perhaps that’s the case in theory, but it doesn’t happen that way. If Arizona wants such a law then ask everyone their status, especially those whites on tourist and student visas who are overstays from Russia, Canada, England, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden. You know, the countries where people can pass for “American,” just by shutting up and smiling. That’s the problem in a police state that insists on a de facto definition of “American” as white.

If Arizona only picks on Mexicans, then the law is clearly racist. If that’s Arizona’s prerogative then call it a states’ rights issue, just as we did slavery. And then join the protest to condemn it.

Responsible folks can call for a boycott of Arizona, but I’m considering going there myself. Besides, I have a brother-in-law and a little niece Olivia to visit. I need to see if the indigenous white people are safe.

And I’d like to see if I get asked “the question.”

I got the treatment years ago in Boston. I was on a Greyhound headed West at a bus depot in Philadelphia . Some guy in a suit and a badge in his wallet asked me for my papers.

My papers? All I had was a rolled up New York Times.

So while people are talking boycott of Arizona, I’m actually encouraging all of you to visit. Really. There’s a nice little Asian strip mall in Phoenix partially owned by the Chinese government and filled with Asian restaurants that will make you feel like you’re on Grant Avenue. Only you’re in the desert. While you’re at it, wish them all a happy Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And extend to them your sympathies.

I was in Arizona two years ago and found only the 114 degree heat oppressive.

This time, I look forward — as an American of Filipino descent, who in sweltering heat is dark enough to be suspected of being Mexican — to arrive in Arizona and have someone ask me for my AsianWeek.

MUNI MESS

No one is saying the recent rash of incidents on Muni are hate crimes yet, but they do come close enough for concern, especially if you are an Asian American living in the Bay View and Visitation Valley.

But take the race out of some of these cases and what do you get? A woman in her 50s, a man in his 80s.

That doesn’t sound like race is as big a factor to me. I don’t think the perps would pick a fight with Bruce Lee III. Jet Li Jr. or the second coming of Michelle Yeoh.

The Muni perps are young cowards who prey on the weak. We’re not talking race war. We’re talking about the need for security on the streets and public transportation. And we’re talking about the need for parenting, and lessons of mutual respect. I know, how old fashioned.

KEEPING THE MONTH

The Muni incident is the real reason we need AAPI Month. Most of the time, I’m ready to give up on the month.

For example, before today, did any one greet you with a happy AAPI Month hug? Karate chop? Any Hallmark cards? If you follow me at www.twitter.com/emilamok, I did tweet you an AAPI Month greeting.

Still, if it weren’t for this street fair, AAPI celebrations would be lame, boring, governmental affairs at the Federal building or City Hall. AAPI Month is the law, after all. Government bodies have to celebrate it, or else. It’s a little like a shotgun wedding celebration.

But because it’s the law, it literally would take an act of Congress to rid ourselves of it.

So when I think we no longer need an AAPI Month, I think of Huan Chen, the 83 year old Muni rider beaten and killed in the Bay View in January. It makes me think of Vincent Chin, the Chinese American mistaken for Japanese and beaten to death in Detroit in 1982.

And then I’m reminded how AAPI Month isn’t just for us. It’s for all of us, especially the non-Asians who have no clue of the past.

See how many non-Asians are here at the Street Fair. That’s a measure of success. AAPI Month is not a separatist movement. It’s a real opportunity for everyone to get to know what it means to be Asian American in this country.

Updates at www.amok.com

Emil Guillermo, an award-winning TV, radio and print journalist, was a former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and a columnist for AsianWeek. His new business helps raise consumers’ financial IQ.

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When: 9pm-2am, Friday, May 14, 2010

Location: SOM Bar, 2925 16th St., San Francisco
Price: $10 at the door | $20 includes 4 issue subscription (50% off price list)
Hyphen magazine will be celebrating the release of its 20th issue, Inside/Out, on Friday, May 14th at SOM Bar in San Francisco. The fundraising party will feature three notable Bay Area DJs, DJ Franchise, DJ Esquire and Citizen Ten, as well as special appearances by Adobo Hobo, the city’s first street food cart, live art and more. The first 50 guests will receive special prizes courtesy of Hyphen and event sponsors.
Hitting newsstands on April 15th, this issue focuses on the dichotomy of Asian Americans’ role in today’s society — what it means to be on the inside and the outside, to occupy the foreground and the background. It takes a closer look at topics within and without the mainstream: the relevance of Asian American museums to our community and to America at large, how an Asian American basketball hotshot with NBA prospects is still just a regular guy, and the sassy stories of a local all-Asian drag queen troupe, the Rice Rockettes. The release will also mark the debut of a new section dedicated to inspiring and educating readers on all aspects of food.
www.hyphenmagazine.com.

About Hyphen
Hyphen is print and online magazine that offers hard looks at social justice issues, in-depth profiles and glimpses into the world of artists who are re-envisioning Asian America. As an all-volunteer organization, we strive to offer a resource and voice to young Asian Americans. Launched in June 2003, Hyphen was named a 2004 finalist for an Utne Independent Press Award in the category of Best New Title and has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, Adbusters, Flavorpill and the Utne Reader.
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The largest gathering of Asian Pacific Americans in the nation is back and bigger than ever, featuring Asian American artists, DJs, arts and crafts, diverse food, martial arts, a Muay Thai kickboxing ring, j-cars, free hepatitis B screenings and more! New features this year include a Mah Jong section, Filipino American Jazz, a balut-eating challenge and wine tasting.
The 6th annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration will be held Saturday, May 15, 2010, in San Francisco’s Civic Center in front of the Asian Art Museum, leading up to the Little Saigon District, on Larkin Street from Grove Street to Ellis Street.
Presented by California Pacific Medical Center and Subaru, the fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the general public.
This is the first time the Celebration is returning to the same location two years in a row. It will take place in Civic Center/Little Saigon another year, and then in 2012, will continue its tradition of rotating locations to showcase the different Asian enclaves of San Francisco.
”The Asian Heritage Street Celebration brings an event to the Tenderloin neighborhood that highlights and celebrates the diversity of the people and cultures of the Tenderloin,” said Elaine Zamora, District Manager for the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District. ”The event is a welcome addition to the efforts occurring in the Tenderloin to reveal the often hidden treasures of the neighborhood.”
Lan Le, of the Vietnamese Community Center of San Francisco, hopes the fair will raise awareness of the Vietnamese community in the neighborhood and help kick-start the area’s many Vietnamese businesses. Le also hopes the neighborhood will transform into a “must-see” tourist attraction like Chinatown and Japantown.
San Francisco is home to the second Little Saigon in the United States, a name officially given only five years ago to the two blocks of Larkin Street between Eddy and O’Farrell. Approximately 2,000 of the city’s 13,000 Vietnamese Americans live in Little Saigon/the Tenderloin, many having arrived as refugees after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. Vietnamese Americans have since made a home in the area, creating schools, service centers and at least 250 businesses.
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For the first time at Asian Heritage Street Celebration, the seven-year veteran, J’s Gathering, will be bringing a new class of rides to their import car shows.

J’s Gathering will be showcasing a new trend to the Asian Community with BMX bike collecting/building. Acclaimed collector/builder/racer, Darren Chan, will be displaying a few from his bike collection dating back to the ‘80s and ‘90s. Also, Ernesto Cadero and Anthony Granado from the Sacramento area will be coming through ready to line up their collections.
J’s Gathering distinguished & reputable annual car show at the S.F
Japantown garage, WEK-FEST 2010, included the BMX bike addition to their car show and drew over 20,000 visitors and over 660 cars – the largest attendance they ever hosted since 2000. Cars from as far as Canada, Texas and Arizona came to register and participate in their premiere event.
Over 60 quality modern J-cars and high-end European sports cars ranging from the Amuse Skyline R35 GT-R, Mach III G35, Full Function 800HP and 650HP Evolutions and many more surprises will attend AHSC this year.
Ernesto Junior, founder of J’s Gathering, assures they “stick to the cars and the hobbies. Other fake shows like H.I.N. uses big time rap artists and aerodynamic motorcycle stunt shows to attract the public.” Soon import enthusiasts let up and got tired of watered down and corporate-backed car shows.
Exactly like the cars at his shows, Junior, a Stanford alumni, is a rare find in the import car show industry. Junior is the real deal and at J’s Gathering “[they] stick to the real attractions _ cars.”

Perhaps people may be capable of defining Drift Style, VIP BIPPU Style, and Track/Race, or they may not have a single clue to what those phrases mean. No problem, come check out the show and hot models to live the moment of an import car drifter. Network and learn more about bodylines, technology and performance. Patrons may come out building his or her own souped-up ride.

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A dazzling display of ethnic costume will kick off the 6th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration at 11am.
Approximately 100 members of the Vietnamese, Laotian, Indonesian, Burmese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Samoan, Indian, Filipino, and Singaporean community will be dressed in their countries’ respective attire, and will be holding their country’s flag as well as an identifying sign of their country or region’s name as they take part in the annual Faces of Asia Cultural Procession.

Anyone interested in walking in the procession can show up the day of the fair at 10:00am, and meet at the Civic Center Stage on Fulton and Larkin Streets. This year, the procession will begin behind the Civic Center Stage on Fulton and Larkin Streets, and proceed north on Larkin Street and end in front of the Community Stage on Ellis Street, starting promptly at 11am.
“The procession will be a beautiful cultural display and will highlight the diversity of the Asian community,” says Hang Le To, of Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center, who is organizing the procession this year with help from the Indonesian Consulate of San Francisco and the AsianWeek Foundation.

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“Why doesn’t San Francisco have an Asian Pacific American street fair?” Asian Public Relations specialist Grace Niwa asked AsianWeek Foundation’s Ted Fang in 2005.
Inspired, Fang decided to create the first-ever Asian Heritage Street Celebration that same year.
A celebration of all Asian and Pacific Islander cultures, the goal of the Street Celebration is to promote and foster Asian Pacific American identity by bringing together community and encouraging the sharing of differences and appreciation of diversity.
The AHSC is the only outdoor event in the Bay Area to rotate its location each year, in order to showcase that APIs reside in all of San Francisco’s neighborhoods. The first celebration highlighted the Japanese community in Japantown, the second showcased the Chinese on Irving St. in the Sunset district, the third year paid homage to the large Filipino community in the South of Market area, the fourth year returned to Japantown, and in the fifth year showcased the Vietnamese community in the Little Saigon district. This year and next the celebration will remain in the Little Saigon/Civic Center area. The fair will continue its tradition of rotating locations in 2012.
In six years, the AHSC has quickly become the country’s largest assemblage of APAs.
“We are very excited to see the Asian Heritage Street Celebration return to the Little Saigon Cultural & Commercial District, ” says Philip Nguyen of the Southeast Asian Community Center. “We welcome this fair heartily, which will help promote not only Little Saigon, but also the whole Southeast Asian community of the Tenderloin, and of the city of San Francisco.”
The AHSC returns all proceeds to various Asian communities, including newer and underserved communities like the Hmong and Samoans, as well as more established populations. The AHSC has donated more than $60,000 to over 50 Bay Area community groups and charities, who are selected for their role in assembling diverse elements within the Asian Pacific American community.
Fundraising for San Francisco public schools is another mission of the Celebration, which has created a raffle program with the goal of teaching children about community philanthropy at an early age. The AHSC provides prizes and administrative support for students and school groups to sell raffle tickets, and all proceeds are returned to participating schools.

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