On the 14th of September 2013, the Southeast Asian Arts & Culture Coalition held its 3rd Annual Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival at the Tenderloin Recreation Center. The coalition comprises of a number of Bay Area organizations and its leaders representing the Burmese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese community.
SEAACC’s mission is to advance the visibility and vitality of each Southeast Asian culture through various educational, social, and cultural activities with an aim to strengthen relationships between Southeast Asian communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The festival we have today demonstrates just that. It brings together people near and far, from all walks of life to celebrate the beauty of the Southeast Asian heritage. You can see people young and old come together despite cultural differences, to support a greater purpose of strengthening relationships between people and cultures.
The celebration has a large selection of activities and events that guests can participate in. Various ethnic food is distributed from the Southeast Asian cultures including the Burmese Tea Leaf Salad, Pad Thai, Larb Gai, mooncake, and many more. Guests can also partake in cultural exhibitions where they can learn about the history and lifestyle of different cultures. These exhibitions contain traditional instruments, historical artifacts, and ethnic merchandise on display. After indulging in the free ethnic food and taking a glimpse of the exhibitions on display, guests can take a step outside to enjoy musical and cultural performances all day long.
These groups comprise of numerous performing arts group from all across the Bay Area including: the Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center, Thai Cultural Center at Berkeley Thai Temple, Khmer Angkor Cultural Dance Troupe, Lao Traditional Instrumental Music & Cultural Dance, Pan Pyoe Myay Group, SF Wushu Team, and Master Vu Hong Thinh. Special appearances from community leaders include Emily Murase, Commissioner from the San Francisco Board of Education, and Cecilia Tran from the office of Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.
