Category: Salinas Chinatown

Posted on

Wellington Lee, R.I.P.

Black and white photo of young Wellington Lee and his childhood friend, Ron.
A young Wellington Lee with his childhood friend, Ron.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Wellington Lee, historian of Chinatown, friend, past Chairperson and long-time member of ACE.

Wellington was a stalwart of Asian Cultural Experience whose contribution to the Asian Community and Salinas Chinatown will be cherished and greatly missed. You can read our last interview with him in ACE’s recently published book, Our Salinas Chinatown, available through ACE, Downtown Book & Sound, and Star Market.

If you knew Wellington, you can contribute to his obituary book at Struve & LaPorte.

Our condolences go out to his family.

—Larry Hirahara, Board, and Members of Asian Cultural Experience

Wellington Lee with a CSUMB student and an ACE member, documenting photographs from Wellington’s collection. Photo: Cathy Chavez-Miller
Posted on

2023 MC GIVES!

Please donate now to help ACE develop our Salinas Chinatown historical archives, upgrade archival storage and our websites, and create a virtual museum incorporating portions of our archives for the public to view and consult for their own research. Go to our page on the MC Gives! website and donate today. Thank you!

Photos from the Caliva Postcard exhibit. Thank you to Alex Fabros, Jr. for providing the images.

Posted on

Our Salinas Chinatown

Pick up your copy of ACE’s book Our Salinas Chinatown, short memoirs and art by people who have lived and worked in Salinas Chinatown. It will be available for $15 at the Salinas Asian Festival, April 29, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the ACE office, 21 Soledad St., Suite A. Thanks to the Arts Council for Monterey County for an Arts and Culture grant that made publication of this book possible! Thanks also to MP Express for printing the book, and to Alfredo Celaya for book design and type.

Posted on

Summer Newsletter

Confucius Church sign in Salinas Chinatown.

We are having a quiet summer and will resume most programs this fall. Nevertheless, a number of positive things have happened for ACE this Spring and early Summer. If you haven’t already received your email copy, do check out our current ACE Summer Newsletter! We are now using the Substack platform to send out all newsletters.

This fall we will feature a book talk, at the Confucius Church (), by historian and scholar Dr. Carol Lynn McKibben, author of Salinas: A History of Race and Resilience in an Agricultural City. If you haven’t already read the book, you should; there’s a lot of fascinating information there about Salinas Chinatown’s history and role in Salinas Valley agriculture. 1-4 pm, Oct. 29, at 1 California St., Salinas. The event is FREE. Parking available at Confucius Church and Salinas Buddhist Temple parking lots, as well as on California St.

Posted on

Virtual Asian Festival

Salinas Chinatown Virtual Asian Festival

ACE’s Virtual Asian Festival is coming up on July 29th, and we couldn’t be more excited. Visit our ACE pop-up and get K-tacos on July 14, 4 – 8 pm at the Salinas Sports complex; then on July 29, order Asian food samplers for take out, pick up at the Salinas Buddhist Temple 4 – 7 pm, and watch our online festival from 7 – 8 pm. Thanks to Basic Lee for the beautiful Festival logo design, Carissa Purnell for flyer design, and to the whole Virtual Festival Committee (Dominic Dursa, Jason Agpaoa, and Chrissy Lau) for their hard work on ACE’s first virtual festival!

TO ORDER: www.bit.ly/salinasACE2021

Posted on

Moving Day

We moved in to our new office/gallery space at Moon Gate Plaza! There will be a few more moving days. Thanks to Union Bank (Prunedale) for the furniture donation! And thanks to all who came to help out, including Michael Miller who is not in these pics. Shown in the photos below: Cathy Chavez-Miller, Larry Hirahara, Jason Galinato Agapaoa, Henry Gong, Charlotte Hirahara, and Larry White. Photos: Jean Vengua

There’s still a lot of work to do, and we’ll be calling on volunteers to help out. More recently, we held our first programming meeting. Coming up on July 28/29 is our Virtual Asian Festival.  Among other things, we’ll be serving up sweet & sour chicken, Republic Cafe style, lumpia, teriyaki kabobs, rice, and more for take-out. Check out our ACE Facebook page for updates.

ACE will also resume our pop-up exhibits this year. We’re looking forward to meeting you and sharing stories of Chinatown. 

Moving into Moon Gate Plaza
ACE members check out the old ACE banner.
Asian Cultural Experience, Salinas Chinatown
ACE members temporarily hang up the “new” ACE banner.
Asian Cultural Experience, Salinas Chinatown
Charlotte and Henry take a break on moving day.

Posted on

AAPI Rally: April 24, Monterey

Join ACE on April 24, at a Unite Against AAPI Hate rally, 11 a.m., on the lawn in front of Monterey City Hall, 570 Pacific St., Monterey CA. ACE will have a table there. Stop by and say hi! Ask us about our project to create a Chinatown Cultural Center and Museum.  Speakers include Congressman Jimmy Panetta, Vice Mayor/City Councilmember Tyller Williamson, ACE members Jason Galinato Agpaoa and Gerry Low-Sabado, Kaye Roberts, Ajit Abraham, Larry Oda, Nat Rojas, Eric Tao, and Angie Tran. 

Be safe — wear a mask!


Posted on

STOP AAPI HATE

ACE stands in solidarity with the 8 murder/hate crime victims and their families in Georgia. But we know this was not the first incident of this sort in the U.S. Hate crimes against Asian and Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities has been on the rise. Let’s take a deep breath, stand united, and work together to put a stop to this. Support local AAPI Organizations near you.

To learn more about this issue, and what you can do, see Stop AAPI Hate. They provide statistics, safety tips (in multiple languages), a way to report incidents, and more. The Community Foundation for Monterey County (CFMC) points us to Anti-Asian Violence Resources. See also this interview with Cathy Park Hong in The Atlantic: “Why This Wave of Anti-Asian Racism Feels Different.”


Community Safety Workshop: To register for panel tomorrow — Sunday at 11am Action #2. Join our Community Safety Workshop on Sunday, March 21st at 11am. Register at https://tinyurl.com/Communitysafetyworkshop or watch live on United Peace Collaborative

Register soon! The workshop takes place on Sun. March 21st.
Posted on

A Message and an Invitation

I. Asian Cultural Experience stands in solidarity against racist violence, and we strongly condemn such acts. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Walter Scott, Sandra Bland, and many other African Americans saddens us. Although our experience is different from that experienced by African Americans, historically, Asian immigrants and refugees have been marginalized and targeted by acts of xenophobia and racism, and we have struggled for social justice and equitable treatment.

Therefore, as a culturally-specific organization, we recommit ourselves to addressing these issues and increasing understanding through dialogue and partnerships, and through historical exhibits and educational programs — especially as related to our diverse Salinas Chinatown community. We work to assure that our organization, programs, and policies are inclusive. Such actions will help to create the Salinas Chinatown we wish to see: a flourishing neighborhood that is a catalyst for positive and peaceful change, promoting justice and equity for all its residents and neighbors.

* * * *

II. An invitation from Herb Wong — to members and friends of ACE and the Chinese American Citizens Alliance:

I would like to invite you to enroll in an online discussion on anti-Asian discrimination and hate incidents. OCA is hosting a virtual four day summit of plenaries, workshops and entertainment for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and allies across the country. The summit will consist of advocacy training and issue based workshops on how the COVID 19 pandemic has impacted the AAPI communities. The virtual summit will take place from July 29-August 2nd

Community members will be able to discuss anti-Asian discrimination and hate incidents, civic engagement during a pandemic, impact on small businesses, mental health, and more. Students will have the chance to explore financial literacy, career building, and college readiness this season.
Working professionals will be able to hear from mentors and peers on the changes in corporate spaces and building inclusivity.

Workshops are free and open to the public! RSVP is required, register and find more information here: bit.ly/ocasummit.

The program schedule can be found at: https://ocasummit.dryfta.com/73-program-at-a-glance-2

C.A.C.A is a Community Partner for the Summit.

I would like to encourage each of you to get the word out to your members and to encourage them to attend the sessions and workshops of interest.

Regards,
Herb Wong

C.A.C.A. – Salinas Lodge