Food, dancing and a chance to win airline ticket. South Tacoma festival is this weekend
The Asia Pacific Cultural Center will host South Tacoma’s first ever Heritage Festival this weekend.
The free family-friendly event is Aug. 12 and 13 at 4851 South Tacoma Way from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Heritage Festival was one of three cultural projects people in South Tacoma voted to bring to their community last October. The event received 56% of the community vote while the remaining 44% was split between Rock the Block, a project meant to showcase local talent, and a Cross-Cultural Community Mural.
The Heritage Festival is meant to “celebrate community diversity while promoting cross-cultural solidarity”, according to the Asia Pacific Cultural Center website.
The event will feature retail and food vendors with a wide range of cuisines, including Mexican, Korean and Asian.
There will be several activities for people of all ages, including science activities, live music, kids’ activities and a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is meant for people to meet the local businesses around the festival. The person who meets the most local businesses wins a round-trip Alaska Airlines ticket to anywhere the airline flies.
There will be 11 performances on each day of the festival that will include cultural dance performances from Tacoma-based organizations such as Esplendor Mexicano, a ballet folk dance group, and Guma’ Imaje, a Chamorro dance group.
“Cultural presentations will offer a deeper understanding of the histories, customs, and traditions of various communities. Experts and cultural ambassadors will share their knowledge, giving attendees a unique opportunity to learn and engage with different cultural perspectives,” according to the APCC Website.
Izzy Baba Mello, a Nigerian singer-songwriter and producer from Portland, will headline Saturday’s portion of the event. Adrian Milanio, a Filipino-American R&B artist from Tacoma will be Sunday’s headliner. A full list of performances is available on the Asia Pacific Cultural Center Facebook page.
When people come to this Heritage Festival they’ll feel that sense of community, we’re really tight knit. we’re proud of our community,” APCC Marketing Director Chito PeBenito said. “It’s not the first event we’ve had there, we’ve had many events and we love to showcase our little community there.”
