Asian heritage celebrated in Alton Baker Park with festivals merged for second year
The Oregon Asian Celebration and the Obon and Taiko Festival, both long-running Eugene heritage events, were again joined this year at Alton Baker Park after successfully merging last year due in part to concerns around the pandemic.
The park was alive Saturday with displays of art, music, craft and cuisine representing many different Asian cultures, offering locals an opportunity to learn and participate. Though the heatwave brought more sweltering temperatures, the all-day festival carried both events' decades-long traditions in the open air while building up their new partnership.
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"It's a great partnership. A lot of the same people were organizers of both events, so it just made sense to make it one big event. The response has been incredible," said Carrie Matsushita, an event organizer and a board member of the Asian American Council of Oregon. "Most celebrations by different Asian groups are within their own community. In Eugene, we are one of the few that really started from the very beginning this community of all Asian ethnic groups."
For Eugene resident Catherine Yan, the festival was an opportunity to expose her 4-year-old daughter, Allison, to a part of her heritage. Yan said the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible to bring her to China, where Yan was raised.
"I'm just bringing her here to be exposed to Asian culture. I just want her to identify herself more as Asian and not to be shy of it," Yan said. "I want her to be able to speak Chinese and be able to write and recognize Chinese ... I want her to be exposed to Chinese culture, to identify herself as Chinese ... I want her to be proud of being Asian and Chinese."
The festival began at 10 a.m. and throughout most of the day offered music and cultural displays associated with the Oregon Asian Celebration. Obon and Taiko Festival events, focused on Japanese ancestor veneration and drumming practices, were scheduled to begin around 5 p.m. and lead up to the Bon Dance, in which the audience was encouraged to participate.
The Oregon Asian Celebration traditionally has been held indoors at the Lane Events Center in February, but was delayed twice in 2021 due to the pandemic. The Obon and Taiko Festival traditionally has been a summertime event.
"This is the Year of the Water Tiger, and the Water Tiger is about community leadership, strength and really about being reborn or remade. It kind of symbolizes our growth pattern," said David Tam, executive director of the Oregon Asian Celebration and president of the Asian American Council of Oregon. "We were an indoor event that charged admission, but thanks to our partnership with the city and all of our sponsors, we're now an outdoor event that's free."
Musical and cultural acts played across the main stage and, on another stage, local martial arts schools showcased their traditions. There were also more than 70 craft and organization booths, and 13 food vendors.
Rachel Gabbert, president of the Music Education Collective, was at her booth trying to raise awareness for the newly-created nonprofit. The group plans to provide private music lessons and scholarships for young people, and she said a set of Tibetan singing bowls on display had attracted some attention from interested kids.
"We've had a couple kids come up and try them for the first time ever," she said. "It's been really fun."
The Oregon Asian Celebration and Obon and Taiko Festival is produced by the Asian American Council of Oregon and the Japanese American Association of Lane County, as well as partners from other organizations around the county.
Contact reporter Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@registerguard.com. Follow on Twitter @DuvernayOR.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Asian heritage celebrated in Alton Baker Park with festivals merged for second year
