From Chinese to Japanese, from Hawaiian to Tahitian, the Asian
community has been a part of Lane County for more than 100 years.
Although separate backgrounds have pushed each culture into its own
ethnic group, this weekend’s Asian
Celebration at the Lane County
Fairgrounds will allow them to come together under one roof.
Originally conceived to help Asian-Americans connect with their community and each other in a festive environment, the Asian Celebration also allows attendees to learn about
cultures outside America.
“(The Celebration) is a way to
allow the Asian community with different backgrounds to work with one another in putting on this cultural event for the community,” event co-chair Tony Lum said. “It’s also a great opportunity for friendship and a way for harmonious relations among all people that represent activities or at least emulate an understanding of Asia and Asian cultures. You don’t have to be Asian by birth; you can be Asian by education, or you can be Asian by being a transplant and picking up their culture.”
A core group of individuals took small steps to build the Asian
Celebration into what it is today.
“About 30 years ago, a small group of us got together and said, ‘You know, our kids are going to grow up without any exposure to Asian culture, so why don’t we try to get together and have potlucks and talk about stuff we could do in the community?’” co-chair Ken Nagao said. “So we looked in the phone book for Asian-sounding names, we had potlucks and gradually started to grow, and the Asian Celebration became a reality.”
Through song and dance, food, art and ancient traditions, the Asian Celebration helps the different cultures proudly demonstrate the customs that make them unique.
“Over the years, we’ve allowed a number of people to show off their culture through cooking, through
entertainment, through crafts and demonstrations, and through
business contacts as well,” Lum said. “It also allowed the community to interact with various Asian consulates, which is not a very common thing for most people to do or have the chance to do.”
This year’s theme is “Struttin’ Our Stuff,” a slight nod to the newly turned Year of the Rooster.
“‘Struttin’ our Stuff’ is the Asian community strutting their thing through entertainment and through cultural crafts and decorations. That’s kind of what we want to
portray — a proud community,” Lum said. “The rooster is a fowl that struts itself a lot, but it’s also very family oriented, very protective and very colorful.”
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the Asian Celebration, and admission will be rolled back to just $2 to reflect the admission price of the inaugural event.
“This is a way of thanking the community for their support, and we also want to make sure people have enough money for all the food and goodies inside,” Nagao said.
Although the admission price is old, this year’s celebration will feature several new events. Among them are a heritage room that educates people on the history of the Lane County Asian community and
a sushi-making competition for both professional sushi chefs and amateurs alike. There will be plenty of entertainment, including dancing, music, crafts and martial arts demonstrations. There will also be
a marketplace, with more than 100 vendors selling artwork, crafts and knickknacks, all with an Asian flair. There will also be plenty of food.
The festivities run Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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