Cleveland Asian Festival 2023

 Over 45,000 people attended the Cleveland Asian Festival (CAF) on Saturday May 20 and Sunday May 21, 2023.  The AsiaTown neighborhood was packed with families and people of all ages to enjoy the annual festival that kicks off summer in Cleveland.

Since inception in 2010 the Cleveland Asian Festival highlights Cleveland’s AsiaTown, Diversity, and Asian Culture in Northeast Ohio.  It was organized in 2010 by volunteer community leaders to celebrate Cleveland’s diversity and Asian Pacific American Heritage month (May).    This signature event defines AsiaTown and brings tens of thousands, including many first-timers, to the neighborhood. 

Surveys show that a large percentage of visitors will return to AsiaTown to shop, dine and enjoy the neighborhood.  By being in AsiaTown, CAF has led to the creation of new businesses in the area as well as neighborhood beautification with arts and cultural displays and decorations throughout the district.

Attendees enjoyed two stages of performances that featured traditional and modern music and dance as well as martial arts.  The Asian Pop Dance competition was especially popular with the younger attendees. The Trivia Contest had an Asian theme.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is an important recognition of the contributions of the AAPI community and a chance to stand together against recent anti-Asian sentiments.  CAF attracts the Asian community but also groups representing the numerous diverse ethnic heritages of Cleveland. 

The CAF team is already working on plans to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Cleveland Asian Festival next May 18 and 19, 2024.  

Here is our coverage of CAF in case you missed any.

 

The main page is at https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/asian/2023/caf-2023.htm

 

That branches to 3 photo pages:

 

https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/asian/2023/caf-2023p.htm

 

https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/asian/2023/caf-2023p2.htm

 

and https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/asian/2023/caf-2023p3.htm

 

There are also performance pages:

 

Kwan Lion Dance  https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/chinese/2023/kwan-family-lion-dance.htm

 

Stellar Acrobatics https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/chinese/2023/caf-stellar-acrobatics.htm

 

Rosa Lee group  https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/chinese/2023/chinese-instruments.htm

 

Yume Daiko  https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/japanese/2023/caf-yume-daiko.htm

 

Sho-Jo-Ji https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/japanese/2023/caf-sho-jo-ji.htm

 

Indian dance https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/asian-indians/2023/caf-indian-dance.htm

    

Easy to get to and attend Cleveland Asian Festival

Almost 50,000 people attended the Cleveland Asian Festival last year.  The 8^th annual Cleveland Asian Festival this weekend (May 20 and 21 11AM – 7PM) promises to be just as popular.  Yet many people have not visited this free family event because they are unfamiliar with the location, parking and other logistics.

The Cleveland Asian Festival (CAF) is held on Payne Ave. between East 27th and East 30th streets.  If you know where Asia Plaza is you know where CAF is.  You can get to the Festival via normal routes to downtown/midtown such as Chester, Carnegie, Euclid and Superior from the East.  There are freeway exits from I90, 71 and 77 at Chester and Superior that will take you to East 30^th.  Payne is between Superior and Chester.

FREE parking is available at East 24th and Payne Avenue in CSU Parking Lots #50, #54, and #57 and Magnet Lot #56.  There is no parking on East 30th or East 27th street.  This free parking is within walking distance (.2 miles) of the festival and Free Shuttle bus service rides provided by Ace Taxi occur every 10-15 minutes.

You will also see some “for fee” driveways and parking lots offering parking for money.  These are not affiliated with the Cleveland Asian Festival and should be used at your own risk.  We recommend the free official lots at East 24^th and Payne.

When you arrive at the CAF get a free program book.  Better yet, download it now.

The book has a map and lists the schedule of performances.  Note there are 2 main stages for entertainment, a large food area, shopping area, kid’s area and inside Asia Plaza you will find free health screenings and other community resources.

There will be plenty of friendly and knowledgeable volunteers to assist you with any questions.  Look for people in blue CAF polo shirts if you need a board member and visit the Volunteer tent on Payne Ave. for more information.

No pets are allowed on the Festival grounds.

The Cleveland Asian Festival is a family-friendly event with something for everyone.  While it is a celebration of Asian heritage and AsiaTown you do not need to be Asian to attend and enjoy this outstanding event.

Shift in cultural attitudes – From Chinatown to AsiaTown

Leaders of the Cleveland Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese community spoke on a panel run by the Maltz Museum and Global Cleveland titled Begin the Conversation: Cleveland's Immigrant Communities Today: Pan-Asian Community. Asim Datta said it used to be that all Asians were seen as Chinese but it is different now. Gia Hoa Ryan prefers the Chinatown name and Johnny Wu explained why Cleveland’s Chinatown was rebranded as AsiaTown.

More of the Asian Community Panel

Cleveland Asian Festival – Big Numbers, Big Success

Cleveland Asian Festival – Big Numbers, Big Success

For Immediate Release

June 16, 2016

Cleveland, OH – The record-breaking crowd of 48,800 at the 7^th annual Cleveland Asian Festival (CAF) broke another record: They spent over $3 million in Cleveland’s AsiaTown neighborhood that weekend.

Survey results from attendees of the popular Cleveland Asian Festival indicate continued and growing satisfaction for the attendees and financial and other benefits to the AsiaTown neighborhood and city of Cleveland.

31% of those who answered the surveys attended both days (Saturday and Sunday) of the Festival. 32% spent over 3 hours at the Festival and 70% attended with 2 or more people.  30% of the attendees attended the Cleveland Asian Festival for the first time.  Wayne Wong, who served as Master of Ceremonies on the JACK Casino stage, asked the audience how many were making their first trip to AsiaTown and about one third raised their hand.

The residual benefit to the AsiaTown neighborhood are dramatic as seen by the responses indicating that 75% of those surveyed said they are very likely to shop at an AsiaTown business in the next year.  A whopping 96% plan on returning to AsiaTown within the next year to at least visit.

The satisfaction of the record crowds can be related to the experience (7 years!) and hard work of the all-volunteer board and staff.  CAF co-founder Johnny Wu says “It is the little improvements that can make a big difference to attendees.  For example, we worked hard on parking and the satisfaction level of those surveyed about parking rose to 82%.”

The K-Pop dance completion was a huge success and seating filled up quickly with many hundreds standing outside the tent to watch.  The other entertainment, varied food choices, family activities, shopping area and health pavilion were also cited as favorites.

Perhaps the most impressive survey result is that 97% believe that the Cleveland Asian Festival benefits Greater Cleveland and 97% also plan on returning for the 2017 Cleveland Asian Festival which will be held May 20 and 21, 2017.

About the Cleveland Asian Festival

The Cleveland Asian Festival is an annual celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage month in May in Cleveland’s Asiatown neighborhood. The Cleveland Asian Festival is a landmark undertaking to unite the community through collaboration and recognition of its culture, diversity, and people.

The 2017 Cleveland Asian festival will be held May 20 and 21, 2017 on Payne Ave. between E. 30th St & E. 27th S. 

http://clevelandasianfestival.org

The 2016 Cleveland Asian Festival was made possible from these major supporting sponsors: JACK Cleveland Casino, Asia Plaza, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Cleveland Public Power, ImageLab Media, Cuyahoga Community College, InHealth Ohio Nonprofit Mutual Insurer, KeyBank, Nationwide HealthCare, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Third Federal Bank, University Hospitals and

many others.

Contact

Johnny Wu, johnny@mdifilm.com

1419 East 40th Street Cleveland, OH 44103

Office: 216.539.4634

www.ClevelandAsianFestival.org

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Cleveland Asian Festival benefits AsiaTown

Cleveland Asian Festival benefits AsiaTown

For Immediate Release

April 1, 2016

Cleveland, OH – The Cleveland Asian Festival is a grassroots effort to highlight AsiaTown while celebrating diversity and Asian culture in Northeast Ohio. It is a major reason for the resurgence of and growth in Cleveland’s AsiaTown community.

When the volunteer founders of the Cleveland Asian Festival created the event seven years ago their main goals were to showcase Asian culture and promote the AsiaTown neighborhood of Cleveland.  The Cleveland Asian Festival is still run entirely by volunteers as a labor of love for their culture, neighborhood and city. 

May 21 and 22, 2016 will be the 7^th annual Cleveland Asian Festival and the results have been dramatic.  In 2015 for example, over 45,000 people attended the event and spent over $2 million in the neighborhood.  For many it was their first visit to Cleveland’s AsiaTown and visitor surveys showed that a large majority planned on returning to shop and eat in the neighborhood throughout the year.

This success has also led to many businesses opening or growing in the neighborhood.  Johnny Wu, one of the founders of the Cleveland Asian Festival, said, “We are all volunteers who work to build and grow AsiaTown.  We wanted to bring the community together and provide an economic growth engine for the AsiaTown neighborhood and the first six years have done just that.  We are excited about continued success this year and beyond.”

The grassroots efforts of the all-volunteer Cleveland Asian Festival team, along with area business and organization partners, have helped uncover a hidden treasure.   Co-founder Lisa Wong says “Due to the notoriety that the Festival has brought to the neighborhood, small business owners and restaurants have filled many of the vacant storefronts and others have remodeled and expanded.”

By bringing together the diverse Asian community and working together with local Asian non-profits, the annual Cleveland Asian Festival has provided an economic boost to AsiaTown and led to bustling stores, restaurants and community resources. 

‘We look forward to introducing even more people to AsiaTown at the Cleveland Asian Festival on May 21 and 22.” said Johnny Wu.

About the 2016 Cleveland Asian Festival

The Cleveland Asian Festival is an annual celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage month in May in Cleveland’s Asiatown neighborhood. The Cleveland Asian Festival is a landmark undertaking to unite the community through collaboration and recognition of its culture, diversity, and people. A record crowd of 45,018 attended the 6^th annual Cleveland Asian Festival in 2015.

The 2016 Cleveland Asian festival will be held May 21 and 22, 2016 from 11am to 7pm on Payne Ave. between E. 30th St & E. 27th S.  Admission and parking are free.

Contact

Johnny Wu, johnny@mdifilm.com

1419 East 40th Street Cleveland, OH 44103

Office: 216.539.4634

www.ClevelandAsianFestival.org

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ASIA's International Community Health Center Grand Opening

The new International Community Health Center (ICHC) on the 2nd floor of the Asian Town Center on East 38th Street fills the need for what ASIA's Executive Director Michael Byun called "Culturally Competent Medical Care" in Cleveland's AsiaTown.

International Community Health Center

Photos and videos from the ICHC Grand Opening

Cleveland Aikikai Dojo featuring Aikido Martial Arts

On the 2nd floor of Asian Town Plaza on East 38th Street in Cleveland's AsiaTown you can find restaurants, art and the Cleveland Aikikai Dojo.

The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.

Sensei Jim Klar of Cleveland Aikikai says that Aikido techniques teach one to prevent confrontation but how to deal with them if rational attempts do not succeed.

More about Cleveland Aikikai and Aikido

Chinese New Year in Cleveland Year of the Snake

The Year of the Snake was celebrated throughout Asia Town in Cleveland with day-long celebrations. Music, dance, Martial Arts, food, vendors, groups and, of course, a Lion Dance, were part of the festivities.

Photos and videos of Cleveland celebrations

Happy Chinese New Year

Johnny Wu, President of the Organization of Chinese Americans - Cleveland Chapter and co-founder of the Cleveland Asian Festival, explains the Year of the Snake and how to say Happy New Year in Mandarin in this short video clip from the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at Asia Plaza in Cleveland’s AsiaTown.