AsianFest returning to Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - The culture of the far east will again celebrated next month during Cedar Rapids' second AsianFest.

The festival, which starts at noon July 25 at the McGrath Amphitheatre in Cedar Rapids, will feature booths with information and activities designed to represent different Asian cultures, according to Sandy Xayasouk, a member of the festival's organizing committee. The Des Moines-based band Gimikk also is scheduled to perform.

About 2,000 people attended last summer's inaugural event, Xayasouk said, which was cut short because of rain. She said she hopes even more people attend this year.

'There is so much color in all the Asian cultures that a lot of people do not know about,” Xayasouk said. 'A lot of the different subgroups of southeast Asian alone are really diverse. It'd be a great way for people to educate themselves and their children about the different people that make up the Asian race.”

Xayasouk added this is the 40th anniversary of the Tai Dam community's move to Iowa.

'We had been pushed out of our homeland by the communists since the 1950s because of the French Indochina war,” Xayasouk said. 'Then we had a choice to stay or take the opportunity to leave.”

Most of the Tai Dam, with the help of Iowa Gov. Robert Ray, made their way to Iowa.

'People don't know that we have such close ties to Asia with the Tai Dam immigrants coming here in 1975,” Xayasouk said. 'We just need to be more included with the community.”

Xayasouk said she hopes events such as AsianFest will help encourage Asians to embrace their cultural heritage and stay in the Corridor.

Festival organizers are looking for more people to get involved, such as dancers or families and businesses that can offer authentic Asian street food. Volunteers also are needed. Go to http://www.asianfest.org/ for more information.