Why immigrants choose to come and stay in Cleveland

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.  They were asked why they chose Cleveland and stayed there.  Gia Hoa Ryan from Vietnam, Asim Datta from India, Johnny Wu from Panama and China and Nupur Goel whose parents came from India answered.

http://www.clevelandpeople.com/

More of the Asian Community Panel

Johnny Wu – growing up with diplomat father

Cleveland Asian Community leader and filmmaker Johnny Wu spoke at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage on a Global Cleveland panel titled Begin the Conversation: Cleveland's Immigrant Communities Today: Pan-Asian Community.  He spoke about his upbringing in a diplomat’s family that traveled to many countries.  His father was strict and made him learn Chinese and martial arts at an early age.


More of the Asian Community Panel

Foreign Students have to learn about others and assimilate

Cleveland Asian Community leader and filmmaker Johnny Wu spoke at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage on a Global Cleveland panel titled Begin the Conversation: Cleveland's Immigrant Communities Today: Pan-Asian Community.  He said that both native born and visiting students need to learn from each other and respect each other’s cultures. http://www.clevelandpeople.com/




More of the Asian Community Panel

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

Johnny Wu – Asian, Hispanic or American?

Cleveland Asian Community leader and filmmaker Johnny Wu spoke at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage on a Global Cleveland panel titled Begin the Conversation: Cleveland's Immigrant Communities Today: Pan-Asian Community.

He spoke about being stereotyped as Asian even though he was raised in Panama and speaks English, Spanish and Chinese in that order.

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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Doctor Who fan film by Johnny Wu

Star Wars, Cosplay, Superman, Doctor Who, X-Men – what do they have in common?

Filmmaker Johnny Wu explains why both Asian and Western cultures have larger than life characters or superheroes.

He also talks about his popular Dr. Who fan film series called Trace: The Doctor.  Search YouTube for Trace the Doctor to watch the episodes.

Watch Episode 1

The making of Fan Films – interview with Johnny Wu

Filmmaker Johnny Wu explains what a fan film is using as an example his Doctor Who fan film called TRACE: The Doctor.

 He is teaching others how to make fan films at the Wizard World Comic Con in Cleveland.

See more at GreatLakesGeek.com

More on Johnny Wu

Night Market Cleveland

Night Market CLE is a summer event series the Final Friday of every month through September. Modeled off of the historic night markets that would "pop up" in Asia, Night Markets will have street food, shopping, and entertainment. It will be authentically Asian and uniquely Cleveland.

Imagine a warm summer evening. The fusion of ethnic food, wares and entertainment. The enjoyment of visitors exploring the ethnic and cultural attractions of the area. Roving food carts. Music playing while shoppers weave through the marketplace. Join us under the stars on Rockwell and E. 21st street and experience local arts, crafts, produce, food and entertainment!

#NightMrktCLE is the result of a strong collaboration between St Clair Development Corporation and the Campus District.

Here are a few photos from the 9-25-15 Might Market.

Johnny Wu and Ava Reiss

Octopus

Debbie Hanson, Ewyn Tsang Oanh and Mike Powell

Unicorn Dog

70th Annual One World Day - August 23, 2015

The 70th annual One World Day will be held in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens on August 23, 2015.  This will also be the kickoff, with the City of Cleveland, of the 100th Year of the Gardens and the Centennial Year events.  Filmmaker Johnny Wu created this promo with Yin Tang doing the voice.  #owd2015

The motto of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation is Peace through Mutual Understanding.   http://clevelandoneworldday.org/

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 

Cleveland Cultural Gardens to celebrate 68th annual One World Day

For Immediate Release

March 2, 2015

Cleveland, OH – For each of the last 67 years, the Cleveland Cultural Gardens have celebrated One World Day in the Gardens.  August 23, 2015 will be the 68^th annual One World Day in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.  This annual event reflects the theme of the Gardens: “Peace through Mutual Understanding."

The annual One World Day is the highlight of the busy calendar of summer events in the Gardens and the one official occasion that all the Gardens get together to celebrate as one.  Events include a Parade of Flags, a naturalization ceremony, cultural performances, entertainment and more.

The 68th annual One World Day will be produced by two icons of the Cleveland international scene: Johnny Wu and Ken Kovach.

Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation president Sheila Murphy Crawford said “With the expertise and inspiring enthusiasm of our new producers, Ken Kovach and Johnny Wu, the 68th One World Day Celebration in our historic Cultural Gardens is bound to be a smashing success and definitely the place to be for the summer season.”

Ken Kovach is currently president of International Community Council - Worldwide Intercultural Network and has served as board chairman of the International Services Center, leader of the International Folk Festival and many more ethnic projects.

Johnny Wu is an award-winning film-maker and one of the founders of the popular Cleveland Asian Festival.  He is a well-respected and driving force in the Asian community and beyond. 

“It is an honor to serve as co-director along with Mr. Kovach to make One World Day Celebration a fun experience for this year and moving forward to next which will be the centennial celebration,” said Mr. Wu.  “There is a lot of work to do, but we are confident that we can accomplish it all.  Most importantly, we want to create synergy within the Cultural Gardens and other organizations to promote the art, culture and diversity of what Cleveland is about!”

The 68^th annual One World Day on August 23, 2015 is the official kickoff of the Centennial celebration of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.

About the Cleveland Cultural Gardens and One World Day

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are unique in the world.  Celebrating 100 years in 2016, the Gardens consist of 26 nationality gardens along East Blvd and MLK Blvd with several more in the planning and development stages.  The first One World Day was celebrated in 1947 and has continued each year since to bring all the nationalities that represent Cleveland together. 

Contact

Cleveland Cultural Gardens
President Sheila Murphy Crawford     sheilacrawford99@gmail.com

One World Day Committee Co-Chairs:

Dr. Richard Crepage               rich.crepage@gmail.com        440-812-1370 cell

Svetlana Stolyarova                realtorsvetlana@msn.com      216-548-4663 cell

One World Day Producers
Johnny Wu                              johnny@mdifilm.com               216-539-4634 office

Ken Kovach                             iccneo@gmail.com                  216-952-9501 cell

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Being Different - Johnny Wu keynote

Cuyahoga Community College West and the Parma City School District presented the annual Culture Shock on April 18, 2013.

Award Winning Filmmaker Johnny Wu was the keynote speaker.

Wu is the President of OCA Cleveland Chapter and Co–Founder/Executive Committee Chair for the Cleveland Asian Festival among many other titles. Wu's presentation was titled "Being Different.”

See more from the Johnny Wu keynote including video highlights

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.