By F. Amanda Tugade, Des Moines Register
Nu Huynh’s face lights up whenever she talks about CelebrAsian — Iowa’s longstanding Asian American festival that has become a tradition for Memorial Day weekend. Though she has helped organize the multicultural two-day event for more than a decade, she is reminded each year of its true purpose: community.
“For everyone that’s involved in this, it’s just that sense of pride and connectedness when we see just a huge amount of diversity, and then we see ourselves and we see our culture on massive display,” said Huynh, executive director of Iowa Asian Alliance, the organization behind CelebrAsian and other local events such as AsianFest and Pho King.
This year’s CelebrAsian takes place Friday, May 23 and Saturday, May 24 at Western Gateway Park in Des Moines and takes on the theme In Full Bloom to spotlight Iowa’s Asian populations and their history and roots in the Hawkeye State. This year’s event, featuring a fashion show, cultural performances and over 100 food and retail vendors, also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and pays tribute to the late Gov. Robert Ray’s efforts to bring Southeast Asian refugees to Iowa.
“We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary at the same time we’re celebrating all of our communities, how far we’ve come, how much Iowa is our home — just all of our contributions today,” Huynh said.
May Davis is among the event volunteers leading one of 15 “villages” — tents scattered across the park, packed with ethnic food, traditional attire and other cultural items representing 15 of the Asian cultures in Des Moines. Davis, who is Hmong and grew up in Des Moines, spoke of her family’s journey to Iowa from Thailand almost 40 years ago; her father, a teen soldier during the Vietnam War, and the persecution their people faced.
“The stories that my mom tells me about running through the jungle, especially at night, having to be quiet … giving a little bit of opium to the baby so they wouldn’t cry and give out their position in the jungle while they’re hiding,” said Davis, 39. ” … It’s crossing the river even with the baby in hand.”
That’s why this year’s theme — 50 Years Ray of Freedom — hits home for Davis, who came to the U.S. in 1986 at 4 months old with her parents and siblings.
“When I hear about freedom, you hear your family’s history,” she said.
The theme also struck a chord with 28-year-old Gabrielle Baccam, who is Tai Dam and Chinese and has helped with the Tai Dam village tent since 2021. Embracing her family’s past drove her to get more involved in CelebrAsian.
Baccam said her parents arrived in the U.S. in the 1970s. Her father and his family came first in 1975 from Thailand; her mother and her family came four years later from Laos. Her late grandfather also was a major in the Royal Lao Army, sought after by Communists, and needed to be on the first plane out of Thailand.
If her family had never left Thailand or Laos, Baccam said her life today might look much different. She might not have had the opportunity to pursue her education.
“There’s just more opportunities here,” she said.
What to know about CelebrAsian:
When: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. May 23 and 24
Where: Western Gateway Park, 1205 Locust St. in Des Moines
For more information, visit www.iowaasianalliance.com/about-celebrasian.
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