ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Asian American Pacific Islander Month is here and the City of Elk Grove kicked it off with its fourth annual Asian and Pacific Islander CultureFest on May 4. 

The event was organized by The Creative Space and Sacramento Pacific Cultural Village. The Creative Space is a gathering place in Midtown Sacramento that hosts classes and events for people to enjoy. With the event in its fourth year, Creative Space co-owner Remy Tokunaga said the first event was held at the Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation, and from the second event onward, it has been held at District56. 

Jen Tokunaga, co-owner of Creative Space and sister of Remy Tokunaga, said that in the event’s first year, there were fewer than 100 vendors but, in the years since the first event, it has grown increasingly with this year’s event having 150 vendors as well as a lineup of live performers and artists who came to showcase their work.

“We’ve been growing not only the vendor community, but also our performer and artist community,” Jen Tokunaga said. “Year after year, we seem to be growing.” 

Remy Tokunaga noted that she and her sister are big Disney fans, and with the event being held on May 4, the District56 community center hosted a meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with “Moana” and “Star Wars” cosplayers. 

“We had the opportunity to host our event today, May the 4th, which is a big ‘Star Wars’ holiday,” Remy Tokunaga said. “Since we’ve expanded, we wanted to do something fun in honor of the day. So we decided to put the meet-and-greet inside, along with Moana to represent Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage.”

Many different acts performed at the event. The first act was the Teng Fei Lion Dance team. The stage was set for the likes of the Koyasan Spirit of Children Taiko Group and the Aikido Yoshinkan Sacramento martial arts school.

Steven Miranda, an instructor for the Yoshinkan Aikido style, said he heard of the event after seeing an online ad, and being that Aikido is a traditional Japanese martial art, he reached out to the organizers to see if they were interested in a demonstration. 

“They are very happy to have us,” Miranda said. “We’re here and we are very grateful for that.”

Sacramento artist Jackie Wada said she was invited to have her art displayed given the Tokunaga sisters were friends of her family. Wada said her art is Asian-themed given her heritage of being half-Japanese and half-Chinese and is inspired in different ways.

Wada said she felt the event did a good job at bringing the community together.

“This event did an amazing job,” Wada said. “It gives everyone something to do on this beautiful windy day.”