“The Iowa Asian Alliance is extremely pleased to have the opportunity to showcase the cultural traditions and celebrate the rich diversity of the many distinctive Asian communities in Iowa” said Christopher McDonald, Chairman of the Iowa Asian Alliance. “CelebrAsian is a vehicle for our communities to reflect and promote a connected, informed, and diverse Iowa.” added McDonald.
CelebrAsian is organized around distinct Asian “villages,” representing twelve distinct Asian communities that live in Iowa. Villages include: Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laos, Nepalese, Taidam, Vietnamese, and Thai. Each village showcases the food, culture, history, arts, and crafts indigenous to their culture.
Participants of all ages can also enjoy a wide array of activities, including Asian cuisine, martial arts performances and competition, cooking demonstrations, exhibits and sale of traditional and contemporary Asian crafts, and live musical, martial arts, and arts performances at the following CelebrAsian destination spots:
- Sports and martial arts village
- Health and wellness village
- Children’s activities village
- Asian Fusion Arts Pavilion
- Entertainment stage
- Cooking Center
- Co-Hosts – Polk County Board of Supervisors, Coldwell Banker
- Festival Champions – The Des Moines Register, Lite 104.1 FM, and Mediacom
- Festival Leaders – American Family Insurance, BRAVO Des Moines, Citi, Principal Financial Group, and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
IAA represents and serves the following Asian ethnic groups: Burma, Cambodia, China, Hmong, India, Japan, Korea, Lao, Nepal, Philippines, Taiwan, Taidam, Thailand, and Vietnam.