CHCA/CHSA Cultural Festival in Chinatown

Welcome to the Cultural Festival in Chinatown

Chinatown History & Culture Association (CHCA) and Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) are excited to present a “Cultural Festival in Chinatown” on May 25th, 2024, featuring historical tours and presentations, cultural activities, calligraphy and painting stations, live performances, music, performing arts, martial arts demonstrations, and lion dance performances. This family event is a cultural festival that will provide a unique opportunity for people of all backgrounds to learn about and celebrate Chinese culture.

The festival is open to the public with FREE admission. Tickets are not required, but please purchase one to show support for the event on Eventbrite.

Cultural Activities are from 11:30 am – 3:30 pm on Grant Avenue, including calligraphy, painting, performances, lion dances, musical and martial arts exhibitions, plus Free Chinese Medicine Doctor consultations.

EVENT DETAILS:

• Cultural Parade: Starts at 1:30 pm from Grant Avenue and Broadway.
• Lion Dance Performances: One block will be dedicated to lion dance performances, which will feature teams from across the Bay Area. The performances will be held in the morning and will be open to the public.
• Chinese Herbal and Tit Tar Free Consultation: One block will be dedicated to free consultations with herbalists and Tit Tar practitioners. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about traditional Chinese medicine and receive free consultations.
• Chinese performing arts, art exhibitions, Chinese Railroad Panel Exhibition: One block will be dedicated to arts including performing, painting, and panel exhibition.
• Children’s Activities: One block will be dedicated to children’s activities, including painting, calligraphy, and promoting Chinese surnames, the display of the fire dragon and parading after dark. This block will also feature a playing and learning area for children.
• Entertainment Stage: One block will be dedicated to entertainment, including kung fu performances, singing, and musical instruments.
• First Responders: One block will be dedicated to first responders, including fire engines, marshalls, sheriffs, and the San Francisco Fire Department. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the important work these first responders do and see their equipment up close.

The festival includes the Chinese American Stories series produced by CHSA with discussions, exhibits, and movies at Victory Hall, 827 Stockton Street:

1:00 - 5:30 pm Pop-up Exhibits:

• Called To Rise - highlighting Chinese American GIs in the China-Burma-India Theater and WWII.
• Detained at Liberty's Door - tracing the formation of the Angel Island Immigration Station and the inspiring story of Mrs. Lee Yoke Suey (CHCP Advisory Board Member Connie Young Yu's grandmother).

1:30 – 2:30 pm Panel Presentations:

• Ron Chan – “A Conversation With My Grandparents,” an interview using artificial intelligence (Ron is a CHCP Advisory Board Member).
• Anna Eng – What was it like for our early ancestor’s who came to this country?
• Leona Lau – How our moms gave birth to the first generation of Chinese Americans through the War Brides Act.

3:00 – 5:00 pm Film Screening:

• “Lingering Dream of Homeland“ -  a film by Li Weinian, telling of an elderly man from Taishan bringing his American-born grandson back to his ancestral hometown. Watch the trailer.