The Chandler Gilbert Asian Festival – a new Asian organization founded in Chandler and Gilbert – has a goal of promoting ethnic restaurants, cultural events and other activities.
While the group includes the word “festival” in its name, the organization isn’t just focused on a single event or activity.
There will be a festival, said Elaine Kessler, a Gilbert resident who is of Thai origin and “hopefully it will be an annual and it will take place on the border of Chandler and Gilbert.
“However, the group is so much bigger than the festival,” she added.
For example, the group decorated Water Tower Plaza in Gilbert with Chinese lanterns in a burst of orange and gold to celebrate a mid-autumn festival.
It also has made a short promotional video about Asian ice cream flavors to highlight the 212 Ice Cream Studio in southeast Gilbert.
And then group has recorded the first episode of a podcast called “ConversAsians,” interviewing Chandler city employee Sandip Dholakia, who spoke about what life was like for his immigrant parents coming to the U.S. and raising first generation Americans.
Kessler said the Chandler Gilbert Asian Festival will support businesses in the two municipalities as well as cultural activities such as Bollywood dancing, the Chandler International Film Festival and “a lot more.”
She noted that there are many ethnic groups in both Gilbert and Chandler that work separately and do not collaborate, such as Turkish and Laotian communities.
“This is an opportunity for these groups to unite with its art, performance and other activities,” she said.
Joseph Yang, the chief operating officer, said the group seeks to unite the Asian communities in the two municipalities and especially activate the smaller communities and cultures. He also wants to connect the younger and older generations…
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