CLEVELAND — For the second straight year, the Cleveland Asian Festival will be held virtually, but that does not mean everyone is being asked to stay home.
This year’s festival will be May 22 at 10:30 a.m. It will be a 90-minute online event that will include performances from local entertainers and food demonstrations from AsiaTown restaurants. Festival organizer Johnny Wu said that six local restaurants, six performances and four virtual tours will be included in this year’s festival.
The performances will represent various Asian and Pacific island cultures, including Chinese, Indian, Korean and Hawaiian cultures.
In 2019, the last year the festival was held in person, the event drew 50,000 over two days. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 events were moved online.
After the 90-minute festival is over, Wu said that viewers will be encouraged to visit AsiaTown. Wu said that AsiaTown businesses have been hard hit due to both the pandemic and a recent increase of racism targeting the Asian-American community.
“It’s been hard but the community strives to move forward,” Wu said. “After they see the show, they will go to AsiaTown and go check out the different things we talk about and maybe dine for lunch at some of those restaurants so they can experience the meal itself.”
Those who miss the festival live on May 20 will be able to watch a replay on YouTube and Facebook, Wu said.
