Asian Heritage Month

May in Canada is Asian Heritage Month. We are proud of the Asian heritage in our community and want to share some of the ways that we can all use this month to celebrate Asian culture and learn important history.

Firstly we would like to highlight the low number of coronavirus cases in the City of Richmond, and the fantastic work being done by the Chinatown community during this quarantine to take care of Chinese seniors with culturally appropriate groceries. A great article on stories and experiences of Chinatown seniors during this pandemic can be found here.

Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society have created virtual explorASIAN 2020 to celebrate Asian culture online with podcasts, virtual museum tours, virtual art exhibitions, virtual concerts, virtual yoga/meditation, and much more. Check out their Facebook page.

Vancouver Public Library have created a list of recommended e-books and audio books.

The 360 Riot Walk Tour gives participants the opportunity to learn about the history of the 1907 Vancouver Anti-Asian riots by engaging in a guided virtual walking tour that you can access free online here.

Vancouver Asian Film Festival has launched Elimin8hate which is a campaign against the recent rise in racist attacks against Asian-Canadians.

Sounds Japanese Canadian to Me is a podcast by the Nikkei National Museum.

Many Japanese-Canadians have served in the Canadian military and in fact the Stanley Park Cenotaph turns 100 this year.

The beautiful Vancouver cherry blossoms originated as a gift from Japan in honor of the Japanese-Canadians who served in WW1. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival has all of the information on best spots for admiring these trees, both IRL and virtually, as well as running an International Haiku competition.