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.
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!
ACE would like to thank the many donors who have contributed to our MCGives campaign to raise $50,000 to complete interior construction of our new office space at Moon Gate Plaza. Today is the final day!
If you haven’t donated yet, you can still do so, today only, on our ACE page at MCGives!
Donate to Asian Cultural Experience (ACE), Salinas Chinatown
What’s up for ACE in 2021? First and foremost, we will be moving forward with our plans to purchase #37 Soledad St. (Republic Cafe; see images below), and the neighboring #39 Soledad St. (El Faro) in order to merge and renovate both as the Chinatown Cultural Center and Museum. We will be raising funds for the purchase phase of the project with the deadline scheduled for Dec. 2021.
In the meantime, we will continue our historical and educational projects from our office/gallery location. Look for these projects both online and (when it’s pandemic-safe) in Suite A, Moon Gate Plaza, corner of Soledad and Lake Sts.
Asian Cultural Experience (ACE) Salinas Chinatown office/gallery, corner of Soledad and Lake Sts.
ACE has been accepted into the MCGives! Campaign, which kicked off today, Nov. 12, and runs to Dec. 31st 2020. Our goal is to raise $50,000 to complete interior construction of ACE’s office/gallery space on Soledad and Lake Streets at Moon Gate Plaza by early 2021.
Interior, ACE Office, Suite A, Moon Gate Plaza
Regular staff hours in a stable office space will enable ACE to apply for larger grants that will have more impact for the Chinatown community as part of the ongoing Chinatown Revitalization. Go to montereycountygives.com, click on “Meet Our Nonprofits,” then go to the Arts & Culture category and the Asian Cultural Experience page, to donate to our campaign. At this point, we have received $6,500 (thank you!) towards our goal!
Chinatown kids, 1930s.
Imagine historical and cultural exhibits inside our new space and visible in window displays; imagine lectures, programs, and activities for local kids and families, as well as for visitors and students. We also plan to incorporate a small, historical-themed library where people can learn more about the neighborhood and immigrant history.
Photos from the ACE Archives — waiting for an exhibit.
ACE Office at Moon Gate Plaza, corner view
Completion of the ACE office/gallery construction will help to activate Soledad St. alongside our neighbors on the bottom floor of Moon Gate, which include: the Red Artichoke Café, CSUMB Health Services, the Community Policing office, Urban Arts Collaborative, and Public Space’s art studios and gallery. The residential area of Moon Gate has already reached full occupancy, and residents there will also benefit from these organizations and services.
Eventually (after renovating the Republic Cafe building down the street), we plan to shift headquarters to the future Republic Cafe Cultural Center & Museum (we will be fundraising for purchase of that building with a deadline of Dec. 2021), and when that building has been completed, ACE will move, and Suite A will be available for another worthy business/organization.
We hope you will consider donating to MCGives! for completion of the ACE office/gallery space!
This has been a time of great change and uncertainty for all of us. In January 2020 we were ready to forge ahead with new programs, and to continue plans forrevitalization of Chinatown.
Our future office/gallery space at Moon Gate Plaza. Photo: J. Vengua, 2019.
However, as news of the pandemic spread in late February and March, we sadly realized we would have to cancel the 2020 Asian Festival and all events except those we could do online.
We are now using ZOOM for meetings and working on infrastructure projects: creating a solid membership database, working on fund and grant development, communicating with members through social media, and we recently mailed out our first newsletter.
Most importantly, we all look forward to taking up where we left off: creating new historical and educational programs, lectures, and exhibits with our valued partner organizations. Look for our next newsletter in September.
Join ACE!
If you are not currently a member of ACE, we would like you to join us. We appreciate any support you’ve given, and hope you consider supporting (and helping to shape) our current goals. We want to improve our process of informing you about membership status. Going forward, membership will be on a calendar-year basis, with dues notification going out at the beginning of the year.
ACE meeting in the old Republic Cafe building on Soledad St. We are now planning and negotiating for purchase of this building to make it a cultural center and museum. Will you join us in this process?
ACE has accomplished much toward its vision of preserving the Asian culture and history of Salinas Chinatown; for example, the Asian Festival (salinasasianfestival.com), “Stories of Chinatown,” an educational exhibition, and many outreach opportunities about Salinas Chinatown history. Read our blog archives or the ACE Walking Tour site to learn about some of ACE’s major accomplishments and milestones.
Your membership in ACE supports and advances our vision of Salinas Chinatown. As a member, we will keep you informed of our activities by sending you our quarterly newsletter, monthly meeting reports, Asian Festival booklets, and invitations to all ACE activities, especially the Asian Festival.
You can join or donate to ACE by going to our website and clicking on DONATE/JOIN in our menu, or download and fill out the ACE membership form (see red link below) and mail it. You can also contact us by email at acesalinas2014@gmail.com. In addition to Membership, we have Volunteer and Sponsorship Opportunities for those who wish to do even more for ACE. Help us plan for the future of Salinas Chinatown’s diverse community!
The 13th Annual Asian Festival (previously scheduled for end of April) has been cancelled, with a possibility of rescheduling later this year, pending further information about the coronavirus.
Right now, ACE continues (online) behind the scenes. We are gearing up to hold meetings via ZOOM; we’ll be publishing our first newsletter this month, which will be sent to ACE members, and continuing to make plans for the future, looking forward to the time when we will be able to move into our space at Moon Gate Plaza, and start up our offline projects again.
One of our partners, Dorothy’s Place, has been providing for folks who are unhoused and living in tents/on the streets in Chinatown. Dorothy’s has placed water and 3 washing stations outside their building, they continue to provide meals for takeout, coronavirus information, as well as general health and counseling services. Please consider making a donation to Dorothy’s Place.
ACE is looking forward to Spring (or early Summer) when we will be occupying our new office/exhibit/gallery/library/meeting space in Suite A on the corner of Soledad and Lake Sts. (Moon Gate Plaza) in Salinas Chinatown! We can’t wait to start new projects. Exhibits? Workshops and classes? Art? Movement? Discussion groups? Films and lectures? Contact us if you have ideas… We are also thinking of a sculpture or memorial to place on that empty plinth in front of our entrance.
We would love to be open during the Asian Festival (last Saturday in April), but we are not sure if the space will be ready by then. Regardless, stop by during the Festival for a look, or if open, drop in and say Hi!
Come and visit the Stories of Salinas Chinatown exhibit at the Historic Harvey House at the Salinas Train Station, free, this First Friday, June 7 (5 to 8 pm) and also on Saturday, June 8(10 to 3 pm)! Snacks and drinks will be provided. The exhibit celebrates the history of Chinatown and its multiple ethnic communities, examines its present, and new plans for its future. The exhibit is open every Sat 10 to 3 pm and every first Friday of the month, May, June and July – 5 to 8 pm.
Read first-person accounts of residents who grew up, attended school, and worked in Chinatown; explore the early neighborhood and streets; listen to its sounds, and learn about the cultures that flourished there.
Unearthed in 2017, various ceramic shards will be displayed from May 3rd to July 31st. These objects were found during Chinatown’s archaeological monitoring and data recovery for cultural resources during construction of the Haciendas III Housing Project.
An exhibit gallery guide created for children and parents in English and Spanish will be available, serving also as a guide for students, grades 3 through 5.
Funded by a generous grant from the Community Foundation for Monterey County, the event was created by ACE (Asian Cultural Experience) and the Historic Harvey House, partnering with CSUMB’s School of Social Behavior and Global Studies, and the Service Learning Institute. Check out the photos below taken since we opened the exhibit:
A panel on the first (of two) Chinatowns in Salinas. Photo: J. Vengua.
Dr. Ruben Mendoza discusses the archaeology part of the exhibit to ACE member Kathleen Slattery. Harvey House historian Larry Smith on the right. Photo: J. Vengua.
Page 16 of the artifacts booklet, detailing some of the interesting items in the archaeological part of the exhibit, researched and prepared by CSUMB students. This page features a fragment from an 18th c. Imari charger.
Jaise Thomas, one of CSUMB students who researched and prepared the archaeological exhibit. Photo: J. Vengua.
Close up of fragments of the Austrian art nouveau majolica vase, c. 1880, found in the Japan town archaeological dig. Photo: J. Vengua.
More pages, showing the students at work, from the Artifacts booklet.
Parts of the Japanese and Filipino exhibits. Photo: J. Vengua. Part of the Chinese exhibit, shown with a lion dancer costume (on a mannekin). Photo: J. Vengua.ACE members and guests on opening day of the exhibit. Photo: J. Vengua.
On May 21st, at the John Steinbeck Library, Salinas-area Asian American historians, authors, and artists shared their creative journeys, research, and influences, with topics reflecting the diverse Asian communities of Salinas.
Great evening of sharing our writing, art, and cultural activism. Thank you, Salinas Public Libraries and ACE! And thanks to participants Gerry Low-Sabado, Larry Hirahara, Wally Ahtye, Kainoa Rocamora, Jean Vengua, and Richard Villegas. Thanks also to Cathy Chavez Miller and Cathy Andrews of Salinas Public Libraries for organizing the event. A high point of the event was when Joseph Frausto of Studio 316 awarded Salinas Union High School Students Kainoa and Xinyu with a scholarship from Main Street Art Studios and MidPen (see photos on Joseph’s Facebook site).
L to R: Gerry Low-Sabado, Kainoa Rocamora, Jean Vengua, Richard Villegas, Larry Hirahara, Wallace Ahtye.
Historian Gerry Low-Sabado speaks about the Monterey Fishing Village and her ancestors.
Richard Villegas, President of FANHS (Filipino American National Historical Society Monterey Bay Area) speaks about the creation of their book, Shadows on Main Street.
ACE member Wallace Ahtye speaks about the Salinas Chinatown neighborhood and its residents.
ACE Co-chair Jean Vengua reads the poem, “Momentum” from her book, Prau.
Where: Art & Culture Gallery at the National Steinbeck Center, #1 Main St., Salinas, CA
When: Open Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 11:00 to 5:00 daily.
Reception: Tues., Oct. 2, Art & Culture gallery (inside the Steinbeck exhibit hall), 5:30 pm; join us for discussion and food (including lumpia!).
Asian Cultural Experience (ACE), the National Steinbeck Center (NSC), and the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) of the Monterey Bay Area are pleased to sponsor an exhibit, “Narciso Bulosan Caliva’s Postcards from Salinas.” Filipino American historian Alex Fabros is the curator of the exhibit, which will be open from Oct. 1, through Nov. 30, 2018 in the “Art & Cultural Gallery” of the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. The opening reception will take place at 5:30, Oct. 2, in the National Steinbeck Center Bookshop. Join us for discussion and food with Alex Fabros and ACE members.
Narcisco Bulosan Caliva & Friends outside his photo studio in Salinas Chinatown. Caliva family collection. 1930s.
This exhibit will feature historic photo postcards produced in the Caliva Photography Studio in Salinas, Chinatown during the 1930s and 1940s. Filipinos and their families, along with other residents of Chinatown, came to Caliva’s studio to be photographed and have their images reproduced on postcards they could mail to family and friends. Also featured will be commentary on the history of Filipinos in the Salinas Valley. Some of the people in the photos have not been identified; for the historical record, we encourage the public to visit our exhibit and help us name these people.
Last month, ACE members with Alex Fabros met at the National Steinbeck Center to select photos to use for the exhibit. Photo by Cathy Chavez-Miller.
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