Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Festival celebrated in Pennsauken

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. - A special event in Camden County to celebrate the rich culture and heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders took place Sunday. The day included performances, craft and food.

"South Jersey is becoming an increasingly diverse community," Nina Gao said.

Gao is the President of the Asian American Alliance South Jersey. She lives and works in the community and during such an important month for people of Asian descent, she wants as many people as possible to learn about the many cultures that live within the Asian community.

"This is our way to engage the community and get the message out," Gao said.

Dozens of booths and vendors were open and operating at the festival in Pennsauken. Gao says while it’s important for adults to organize and carry these events to fruition, it’s really dependent on the youth getting involved.

"There’s a lot more young people getting involved," Gao commented. "We’re really happy to see that. They’re here to volunteer, they are here to perform and we want them to be more engaged in civil service and community activities."

Mikee Alvarez, Gabrielle Aquino and Rinnah Segovin are all students in Cherry Hill. They are part of an Asian American organization at their school and believed it was their responsibility to volunteer and help set up the event.

Lainie Alvarez is Mikee’s mom and loves seeing all of the cultures come together. She was also very surprised and impressed that her daughter took such an initiative and action within her own community at such a young age. "I’m very proud because I actually didn’t expect that she was going to be able to have a chance to volunteer here. It was last minute, so, yes, we’re very excited for her."

The event also featured authentic cultural dances from all age groups, as well as other activities for people to learn more about Asian culture and history.

Gao wants everyone to learn as much as they can about Asian cultures because she believes they have so much to give the world. Additionally, she believes inclusiveness always makes the world a better place. "We live here, we work here, we pay tax. We wanted to make sure we are represented in the community as well as we wanted to reach out and bridge with other communities."