Asian Pacific American Cultural Celebration with the Nihonmachi Street Fair
The Bay Area has long been home to many, many cultures. As anyone who has spent any amount of time within the city can share, the Bay Area has always acted as a representative of the melting-pot culture that makes up our country. Of course, some cultures are more heavily represented within San Francisco than others. Japanese culture, for instance, has a strong hold within the city by the bay, and this beautiful heritage, which is ambiently celebrated throughout the year, is even more strongly at play during the Nihonmachi Street Fair.
Surprising no one, the Nihonmachi Street Fair takes place in San Francisco’s historic Japantown district as it has done every August for the past 46 years. Thousands of people from around the area and the country arrive in San Francisco during the first week of August simply for this one event, which draws out some of the most enthusiastic expressions of not only Japanese heritage but instead broadens out to include any feature of the Asian-Pacific American lifestyle.
If this sounds like a wide range of ideas, that’s because it is. But all the better for you because it means that the Nihonmachi Street fair contains an electrifying number of things to do.
On August 3rd and 4th, running from 11:00 in the morning until 6:00 at night on both days, the stretch of Post Street that runs from Laguna to Fillmore will be transformed into an outdoor marketplace, a concert venue, a performance space, a food court, and an all around magical place to be. Dogs are welcome! So there is no reason to stay at home. Instead, pack up your family and friends for a chance to dive deep into the colorful and rich world of Asian-Pacific America.
One of the most exciting things about the Nihonmachi Street Fair is its strong dedication to young people from Asian-Pacific American background. Part of the way this manifests itself is in the way the entire event is organized, with youths from the area being fully responsible for organizing, producing, and staffing the event. This allows young individuals who might otherwise never have the chance to try on the hat of leadership to experience what it means to bring something into existence through collaboration, communication, and newly developed problem solving skills.