Held annually during the Memorial Day weekend at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the Asian Festival is normally the kick-off of Columbus’s festival season and the wrap-up of celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. For many festival-goers, the in-person event provides an opportunity to experience and learn about the AAPI cultures through traditional dances and performing arts while tasting their way through the myriad offerings of Asian food prepared by numerous vendors. The event, which normally attracts more than 100,000 visitors, will be virtual this year with streaming beginning on May 28 at 11 a.m.
As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month one of the most sustainable ways to support the AAPI community is to do business at Asian-owned establishments. According to the AACG, there are 21,000 Asian-American-owned businesses in Ohio employing more than 64,000 workers. Here’s a curated list of local AAPI-owned and operated businesses to support:
