ARCSA Asian Festival: San Antonio Celebrates AAPI Month at Hemisfair
Written by Vi-Linh Nguyen and Vi-Anh Nguyen | May 20, 2026
Photo by Crystal Truong
The heat of San Antonio’s evening sweltered, as art and food vendors set up their booths in preparation for the rush of people crowding at the entrance. Attendees were visibly sweating, but their curiosity and excitement proved palpable enough to power through it. In observing the growing crowd awaiting entry, the anticipation of the 2026 Asian Festival of San Antonio felt different, bigger. Efforts like this year’s Asian Festival, show the city’s desire to foster community among its Asian American population and its residents as a whole.
As the festival started and the crowds flooded in, a noteworthy difference from the previous years of San Antonio’s Asian Festival was the diverse pool of vendors who were present at the event. By walking the short distance from table to table, attendees were provided the opportunity to learn about the varying Asian American community that shapes San Antonio. Apart from art and food, some vendors shared information concerning civics or health. Lead Filipino, for example, is an organization that encourages people, with a focus on Filipino American outreach, to be more involved in their local politics, through options like volunteer work or local voting. UTHealth’s APAMSA, (the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association), brought awareness to Asian Americans’ susceptibility to hepatitis B, and even offered free appointments to attendees to screen for it. Beyond this, they included mental health resources for patients interested in finding therapists with familiar cultural backgrounds. A UTHealth’s medical student, who helped at the booth, spoke of being a Houston native. He shared that he grew up with a stronger presence of his culture and community back home, marking the Asian Festival as an event that, “felt like home” to him. First-time vendors, The Raindrop Foundation, taught about the people of Turkiye and Azerbaijan, and its diaspora. Two like-minded vendors, San Japan and The Japanese American Society of San Antonio, both promoted Japanese culture and pop-culture events. The latter enticed attendees by discussing their exchange programs with San Antonio’s Japanese sister-city of Kumamoto. The cultural programs that are often a part of this festival help attendees and vendors alike feel that they are a part of a larger movement. That movement is the push the city needs to further unite the community, not only amongst the Asian American population, but the San Antonio community as a whole.
Photo by Diego Valle
With Texas’s notorious heat, especially at this time of year, the decision to hold the festival later in the evening served both to encourage attendees to stay longer and make the vendor experience worthwhile for the organizations and businesses with tables. In a new location by Hemisfair Park, the greenery and open air created a welcoming ambiance, a more inviting and spacious layout for people to gather. As the cool air of the night approached, the event was reminiscent of the night markets across the Asian continent, in a way that is authentically Texan of course. The event continued after working hours, an added plus allowing more time for working San Antonians to attend. After all, it is clear the Asian Festival is an event catered to everyone, having made the effort to be accessible.
An integral aspect of the Asian Festival to consider, is its potential to help cultivate San Antonio’s art scene. Artists like Irene Kang of The Spark Collection or Lisa Crawford of the Lisa Lisa brand, traveled down from Austin to participate in this event. Kang herself mentioned this was not her first time attending, and the festival seemed to have grown significantly since her previous experience as a vendor. With a bigger turnout, this is a pivotal reason for artists like Kang or Crawford to attend and expand their brands. If artists are willing to travel for events like the Asian festival, that means San Antonio's creative industries have the opportunity to continue growing. Having a space for these creative fields to become accessible to San Antonio’s Asian American community fosters a locally supported, culturally enriched, and diverse art scene for San Antonio altogether. Christian Giron, a local freelance model who works heavily with Lead Filipino’s Texas chapter, and is the founder of United Asian Artists of Texas, was glad to see the community come out and support events like the San Antonio Asian Festival. Giron, who was born and raised in the Philippines, saw an opportunity to represent a big part of who they were on the public stage. Young attendees, for example, could see their familial backgrounds through Christian’s attire, or, through their artistic performances. The Asian Festival has shown that arts and culture are entwined, and that San Antonians have the chance to learn from each other via that connection.
Photo by Crystal Truong
Overall, a substantial turn out this year proves promising for the future of the festival and the city. Tural Abdullayev, the festival coordinator for the Raindrop Foundation, who was present and helping at his own table, said it well: “My favorite part of this year’s festivities has been the new friends made.” Many organizations tabling at the event were encouraged to come back next year. With the chance to speak to and learn from vendors who specialize in a certain trade, craft, or knowledge, the attendees were also encouraged to come back the following year. The Asian American population in San Antonio may be larger than before, and will continue to fluctuate, marking the Asian festival and other similar events as a relevant means of encouraging growth in cultural promotion and education. The festival worked to fundraise for the Asian Resource Center, presenting a sense of unity that is developing from city residents. More residents of San Antonio are showing an eagerness to learn about the city’s Asian cultural influence. There is an ever-present hope for the community thanks to what the Asian Festival of San Antonio has achieved, and it is exciting to see what the organizations behind it have in store for the future.
For everyone we spoke to, you can follow them here:
Christian Giron
Instagram: @chrismabuhay
Facebook: gironchristian
YouTube: @gironchristian
Deadly Sweet Maid Cafe
Instagram: @deadlysweetmaidcafe
Facebook: deadlysweetmaidcafe
Tiktok: @deadlysweetmaidcafe
Twitch: deadlysweetmaidcafe
YouTube: @DeadlySweetMaidCafe
Japan American Society of San Antonio
Instagram: @jas_sanantonio
Facebook: JASSA.TX
Lead Filipino Texas
Instagram: @leadfilipinotx
Main Website: Link
Lisa Lisa
Instagram: @lisalisa.co
Raindrop Foundation
Instagram: @raindropfoundationsa
Facebook: RaindropSanAntonio
LinkedIn: raindropsanantonio
San Japan
Instagram: @sanjapanofficial
X: SanJapan
BlueSky: sanjapan.bsky.social
Tiktok: @sanjapan
Spark Collection
Instagram: @thesparkcollection
YouTube: @sparkcollection
Facebook: thesparkcollection
UT Health San Antonio APAMSA
Instagram: @uthealthapamsa
