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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K-Pop Rocks the House at Cleveland Asian Festival

K-Pop Rocks the House at Cleveland Asian Festival

For Immediate Release

May 26, 2016

Cleveland, OH – Thousands of people visited the Dragon Stage at the 2016 Cleveland Asian Festival (CAF) to watch the finals of the K-Pop competition. 

In prior weeks, local dancers submitted their best mashups of popular K-Pop dance routines and people voted for finalists via social media.  Saturday afternoon, the final dance off took place.

K-pop (short for Korean pop) has become a worldwide phenomenon.  Originating in South Korea, it covers a range of styles including dance-pop, pop ballad, electropop, R&B, and hip-hop music.  Five finalists were chosen to compete in the finals at the Cleveland Asian Festival for a $2500 grand prize.

The seating area filled up quickly and standing room only crowds encompassed the stage.

 CAF entertainment coordinator Yin Tang said “It was great seeing so many in the audience singing along to the songs as the dancers performed.”

The judges included music and dance industry leaders and even a priest, Father Sung-Woong Lee, who comes from South Korea.  The cheering of the audience played a part in the decisions but it was the opinions of the expert panel that determined the winner. 

The Grand Champion of the 2016 Cleveland Asian Festival K-Pop competition, and winner of the $2500 grand prize, was Chakai.  2nd Place was awarded to Abracadabra Productions and 3rd Place went to Gizibe.  Congratulations to all the competitors and the winners.

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. A record crowd of 45,018 attended the 6^th annual Cleveland Asian Festival in 2015.

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 Cleveland Asian Festival is 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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Free Health Screenings at Cleveland Asian Festival

The Cleveland Asian Festival is known for its cultural performances, family friendly activities and delicious food.  These components contributed to the Cleveland Asian Festival being named Best Festival in Cleveland.  The annual two-day event typically draws about 40,000 people to Cleveland’s Asia Town and they spend about $2 million at the event and in the area. 

But the most valuable contribution of the annual Cleveland Asian Festival may be the Health Pavilion.  Free Health Screenings are available for all attendees at the Cleveland Asian Festival.  Major health care organizations will be in attendance: Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Asian Services in Action, and Cleveland Department of Public Health.

Screenings include vision, blood pressure, body mass index, glucose, cholesterol, lead testing, mammogram (by appointment), sleep disorders, bone density, HIV, and dental.  Health Education will also be available in relation to all of the screenings along with alternative medicine.

Health Pavilion Chair Michael Mendoza said “The health pavilion is a great way for festival goers to learn about their health and health services from local experts.  Health care organizations benefit from the high traffic of people attending the festival to promote their services."

Volunteer interpreters will be on hand to help translate many Asian languages for the health screenings.   The community should be made aware so they do not miss this valuable opportunity for free, culturally aware health screenings.

About the 2015 Cleveland Asian Festival

The 2015 Cleveland Asian festival will be held May 16^th & 17^th, 2015 on Payne Ave between East 30th and East 27th Street in Cleveland.  Admission and Parking are free.

The Cleveland Asian Festival features modern and traditional performers on two main stages as well as a food area with dozens of restaurants featuring various Asian foods.  The entire family will find something to enjoy including an Educational Children’s Activity Area, Sushi and Egg Roll Eating Competitions, inflatable sumo wrestling, Free AsiaTown Trolley Tours and more.

Major Festival sponsors include Consolidated Solutions, Horseshoe Casino, Cleveland Public Power, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, ImageLab Media Services, Asia Plaza, Key Bank, Third Federal, Cuyahoga Community College, Kent State University, Cleveland Clinic, US Bank, Time Warner Cable and Ohio Savings Bank.

Contact

To learn more about the Cleveland Asian Festival Health Pavilion

Michael Mendoza

440.376.7381

mmahneo23@gmail.com

To learn more about the Cleveland Asian Festival

Johnny Wu

Office: 216.539.4634

http://clevelandasianfestival.org