Fourth Annual Asian American and

Pacific Islander Heritage Month

MAY 12, 2012 (Saturday)

SUNY Stony Brook University
Charles B. Wang Center, 1 pm to 6 pm

FREE ADMISSION (OPEN TO PUBLIC)

Organized by:

Suffolk County Asian American Advisory Board

Suffolk County Office of Minority Affairs

Wellbrook Foundation, Inc.

SUNY Stony Brook, Charles B. Wang Center

In Collaboration with:

Bethpage Federal Credit Union

Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Suffolk Community College Asian Cultural Club and Mathematics Club

Center for Chinese Learning at Stony Brook

Events Program Guide
May 12, 2012 (Sat)
Charles B Wang Center, Stony Brook, NY

 FREE  ADMISSION - OPEN TO PUBLIC

1:00 PM – 1:20 PM
Opening Ceremonies and Lion Dance (Main Lobby)

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
AAAB Youth Orchestra (Wang Center Theater)

1:30 PM, 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM
Vienam Tea Ceremony and Workshops (Chapel)

1:30 PM -5:30 PM
Photo Exhibit/E-Waste & Recycling
Notable Contributions of Asian Americans (Room 201)

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Taiko Drums by Sensei Gerard (At the Garden)

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
Chinese Yoyo and Martials (At the Garden)

2:30 PM -4:00 PM
Open Theater (Main Lobby)

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Featured Multi-Cultural Performances by Asian Artist
and Awarding Ceremonies ( Main Theater) SOLD OUT

 Program schedule subject to change without notice.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT PROGRAM GUIDE

PARTICIPATING ASIAN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

 Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Korea, Nepal,
Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam


Asian Pacific American Program Activities Includes:

• Asian Pacific American Photo Exhibition on APAHM Celebration and Famous Asian Mathematecian.
  
• Social Harmony Writing Contest Awards sponsored by Wellbrook Foundation, Inc.
• Photo Writing Contest sponsored by Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook
• Distinguished Asian American Awards Ceremony
• Multi-Cultural Booth including arts and crafts
• Multi-Cultural Performances from ten (10) different cultures
  
• Featuring musical performance of the AAAB Youth Orchestra
• Corporate Sponsors and Vendors Table
• History of the APAHM and Photo Display Exhibits
• Open Theater Musical and Dance Performances
• Vietnamese Tea Ceremony Workshops
  
• Tiako Drums by the Ryu Shu Kan
• Lion Dance
  
• Health Awareness and Various Workshops
• Face Painting for the Kids
• Girl Scout Cookies Sale
• Philippine Tinikling Dance Workshop by the Filipino School of New York and New Jersey 

  

Click here to print flyers

 



History of the Asian-Pacific American
Heritage Month

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.