Asian Festival

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Founders of Asian Festival

Dr. Steve Kaplan was the Asian Festival Chair in 2018. It was a tremendous success, the festival had received strong support from the state, city, corporate and communities. There were more than 20,000 attendees for 2 days event.

Winnie Kho Kaplan is the Steering Committee for the Asian District, Mesa and very passionate in promoting the Asian Culture, Commerce and Community locally and internationally.

Excellent Service Award from Scottsdale City Mayor Jim Lane and Arizona Asian American Association in recognition of outstanding achievement in serving the community at the Asian Festival.

Our Visionary Speakers

International Sponsors

Workshops We offer

Event Participants

Message from Mayor John Giles, City of Mesa, Arizona, USA

Thousands attend Asian Festival in Asian District Mesa, Arizona

ABC 15 Posted at 5:41 PM, Feb 05, 2022

MESA, AZ — Thousands gathered, including dozens of vendors and performers, to honor different cultures for the inaugural Asian Festival in Mesa Saturday.

“This is our first time in Arizona enjoying the Lunar New Year and we wanted to take my daughter out to the festivities,” said Khoi Mai.

Census data shows the Asian population has been growing in the Mesa area.

In 2020, the city named a two-mile stretch on Dobson Road the Asian District which has about 70 Asian-owned businesses in the area.

Vendors told ABC15 they like sharing their culture by celebrating the Lunar New Year.

“So we usually celebrate it in China — and then we’ll bring dumplings to everyone, dumpling means good luck today so that’s why we’re cooking dumplings for everyone right now,” said Honglin Zhu.

Organizers said they plan on bringing the event back next year.”Yeah. This has been good. Thousands of people have come down,” said Dr. Steve Kaplan, one of the people that helped create the event.According to Kaplan, sponsors have already expressed interest in doing more in the future.He told ABC15 he hopes more people will show an interest in other cultures.

“So a lot of people know about one Asian culture or another but they’re very, quite different,” he added.

Thursday, Jan 6, 2022

Presenting the Asian Festival Poster to the City of Mesa, Mayor John Giles and Councilmember District 3 Francisco Heredia from the Founder/President of Asian Festival, Dr. Steve Kaplan, Honorary Consul Winnie Kho Kaplan and businessman Jason Li in Asian District Mesa

The “Asian Festival” is a cultural event to promote a greater understanding of Asian countries and cultures to the general public. Each participating Asian country has an opportunity to share its’ unique music, cultural performances, food, fashion, handicrafts, and other products.

WHY JOIN EVENT What to expect at the Asian Festival

Asian Festival 2023 celebrating the Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Friday & Saturday, May 5 & 6, 2023 at Riverview Park, Mesa.

Asian Festival 2022 we had more than 20,000 attendees at the event where we offered Cultural Shows, Food Trucks, Cultural Booths, Community outreach, Health screening and celebration of Lunar/Chinese New Year. Many dignitaries such as US Congressman, Honorary Consuls, Maricopa Supervisor, Mayors and councilmembers from Mesa, Tempe, Chandler & Gilbert came to unveil the Asian District’s signage.

Asian Festival 2023 will be more special then ever. We are expecting over 50,000 attendees for the 2 days event. We are very excited to have the Rainforest World Music from Borneo Island, Asean Trade & Tourism and World Cultural Village. We welcome Trade Mission, Tourism, Cultures and Arts & Crafts from all the world.

The Asian Festival mission is to promote a peaceful world by increasing international awareness and cultural understanding. It is a time to build community through businesses and family oriented activity. The Asian Festival is the inaugural event, that we hope to expand to various other events supporting the Asian District throughout the year. Our focus is organizing diverse cultural festivals, workshops and events for the public to learn and experience another culture, meet international friends, improve their language ability, taste of Asian cuisine, arts & crafts, tea ceremony, cultural dance and promote the value of cultures and traditions.