May, a month of commemorating and celebrating the diverse cultures within the Asian American and Pacific Island communities, passed by with a blink of an eye with no shortage of opportunities to bring together and spotlight the many AAPI identities. The programs of TACL were no different, as different chapters found their own way to recognize both AAPI and Taiwanese American heritage within their own groups. Read below for quick recaps on how each chapter celebrated this month of unity and pride!
TAP-Atlanta Recognition for Census Engagement
TAP-ATL received the Census 2020 Engagement Award by the Georgia AAPI Hub – a huge honor for all the efforts that were pushed out leading up to the 2020 Census Campaign for “Write In Taiwanese”. At the ceremony, the census team went over the results gathered by the census and how it reflected the AAPI community in Atlanta.
TAP-Boston at Newton Taiwan Day
TAP-BOS celebrated AAPI month at the 16th annual Newton Taiwan Day celebration! The group came together with dozens of Taiwanese organizations to enjoy Taiwanese food and culture, which included a flag-raising ceremony, dragon parade, and performances. The TAP Boston booth offered homemade pineapple cakes and refreshing wintermelon tea, and members educated the community on what TAP does and how to get involved.
TAP-DC’s Special Giveaway to their Members
TAP-DC found their own way of celebrating with their community by hosting a virtual giveaway event while also engaging their members to participate in various activities to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month! From attending TAP-DC’s very own events like karaoke and learning Chinese Yo-Yo to reading an Asian American memoir and grabbing a boba drink, there was something for everyone!
TAP-Los Angeles at the Annual Taiwanese American Heritage Week Festival
TAP-LA team proudly promoted Taiwanese culture and identity by encouraging people to leave stickers on their hometown in Taiwan or where people have traveled to on a large Taiwan map at the TAP-LA booth. The exciting engagement drew a crowd, including TECO Director General Chi, Mayor of Monterey Park Henry Lo, Council Member Thomas Wong, Miss Taiwanese Americans. Besides the Taiwan map conversation starter, TAP-LA booth also offered traditional night market games such as the ring toss game and the marble game.
TAP-New York Gets Creative with Taiwanese Inspired Cocktails
TAP-NY’s cocktail making event featured Eric Lin, a cocktail enthusiast and TAP-NY member; he taught TAP-NY members about clarified milk punches, a mixology technique dating back to the early 1700s. For this particular session, they made a pineapple clarified milk punch infused with brown butter and Kavalan whiskey to try to mimic a pineapple cake in a cocktail! Attendees were able to chat about their favorite cocktail bars in New York and try the different naturally made syrups and ingredients that made up their cocktail.
TAP-Orange County Outing at the Anaheim Angels Taiwan Day Baseball Game
TAP-OC participated with 700 people to watch the Anaheim Angels Taiwan Day baseball game against the Boston Red Sox. It was a spectacular feat where so many of Southern California Taiwanese communities got to enjoy the baseball game together as well as cheer alongside the Taiwan Cheerleaders, Rakuten Girls, on the field to as the Angels scored home runs and got the win for the night!
TAP-San Francisco Hosts the 30th Taiwanese American Cultural Festival
From energetic performances by the Taiwan Acrobatics Troupe to authentic eats from Liang’s Village, the 30th Taiwanese American Cultural Festival welcomed over 10,000 attendees on May 13 for a joyous celebration of the Bay Area’s unique Taiwanese heritage. Small businesses, including Yun Hai, Bitty Bao, Boundless Ceramics and Cultural Roots Nursery, and local artist Felicia Liang displayed a variety of crafts, art, plants, and goodies for purchase, while visitors had the opportunity to indulge in traditional Taiwanese ice pops, peanut-flavored cold noodles, and dried beef jerkys from vendors including HTY Foods and Combo Market. Visitors of all ages had the opportunity to engage in fun, intricate activities; young children enjoyed paper folding and lantern making, while others participated in the “passport” experience, gathering stamps around Union Square before exchanging their passport for a raffle ticket.
Check out the festival recap below or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH-jVVaIcyI
TAP-Seattle Brings Out the Artsy Youth with a Drawing Contest to Celebrate TA Heritage
TAP-SEA encouraged the younger generation in the community to draw inspiration from their Taiwanese American heritage and illustrate what that identity means to them. Submissions from 1st through 8th grade displayed not only creativity, but nostalgia as the artists brought back their memories. Well done to all the students that participated and congratulations to all the winners!
