Asian Festival Signals Return of Salinas Chinatown

There is an annual Asian Festival in Salinas every spring. Each year the different Asian communities of Salinas come together to celebrate pride in their cultures and the long histories of their communities in the city of Salinas.

On Saturday April 28, 2012 the fifth annual Asian Festival in Salinas took place.

At the festival there were many different places open to the public including the Buddhist Temple, the Confucius Church, and the Filipino Community Center. There were many different cultural exhibits such as bonsai displays, presentations of cultural dances, and other displays of the Asian culture. Also, a great amount of food was for sale during the event.

According to http://www.salinasasianfestival.com, the purpose of the festival is to celebrate “the ongoing renewal of Salinas’ Chinatown”.

The old Salinas Chinatown became a place of rundown old buildings ever since the end of its heyday. Many urban problems arose in the historic place and currently the city of Salinas and the different Asian communities wish to reclaim the old historic neighborhood located between East Lake St. and Market Way. Many of the old buildings are being renovated into places of new use, while there are plans to fix up others.

For example, the former Republic Café on Soledad St. will one day become a historical museum open to the public. It will display different aspects of the old Salinas Chinatown.

The annual Asian Festival in Salinas promotes the rejuvenation of this old community in hopes of making a new golden age of the Salinas Chinatown.