“Today was exactly what I needed to feel welcome, joyful, curious, and excited about Chinatown. I’m seeing multiple generations. I’m seeing multiple cultures. It was really lovely. I’m having a lot of fun.”

— Audience member

On Saturday, September 28, Pao Arts Center celebrated its seventh annual Experience Chinatown Arts Festival with a day of performances, activities, and exhibits. The festival brought artists, businesses, and community members together to celebrate Chinatown’s vibrancy and resiliency.

We were thrilled to welcome over 3,000 attendees to the largest Experience Chinatown festival to date. Visitors from as far as New Hampshire and New York enjoyed performances, activities, exhibits, and a mural scavenger hunt at Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park, Pao Arts Center, and local businesses.

Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Kwong Kow Chinese School Lion Dance. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Kapatid Kud performance. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

BU Bhangra performance. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Flavor Continues performance. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Kold Kwan performance. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

JC Alula + her band performance. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Children enjoy spinning the BHCC wheel. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Child enjoying the afternoon in the sun. Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

Photo: Olivia Moon Photography

The day opened with a vibrant lion dance performance by the Kwong Kow Chinese School’s Youth Lion Dance team, who greeted guests with colorful lions. BU Bhangra then energized the audience with a lively performance of the traditional Indian folk dance. Kapatid Kud, a global fusion music duo from India and the Philippines brought vibrancy to the stage through joyful songs full of storytelling and light. After, hip-hop artist Kold Kwan energized attendees with lyrics inspired by his experience as an Asian-American growing up in Boston. Taking a quick shift from musical performance and for the first time in Experience Chinatown history, The Flavor Continues brought everyone into a circle for a dance cypher, welcoming anyone in the crowd to jump in to dance. JC Alula + her band finished the day by inviting everyone to sing along to upbeat Mando- and Canto-pop songs.

Off stage, visitors enjoyed activities from artists and partners. Pao Arts Center partner, Bunker Hill Community College, promoted their course offerings, BCNC celebrated 50 years of childcare, and ACDC hosted a SaturPLAY session. Audiences also learned more about public art initiatives in Chinatown. Maria Fong asked visitors to consider heat resilience by folding paper fans in their mobile Library Park Cart. Artists Joanna Tam, Anita Yip, and Ying Ye, from the Un-monument Initiative presented by Pao Arts Center, curated by Lani Asunción, in collaboration with the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, supported by the Mellon Foundation, introduced community members audience to their public art projects.

Sprouts of Resilience: A Journey from seed to Tofu by artist Ying Ye. Photo: The Chinatown Project

Imagine Safety by Joanna Tam. Photo: The Chinatown Project

The Thousand Bloom – A Chrysanthemum Grows in Chinatown 千朵花開:唐人街長出一朵菊花 Bloom photo at the gate] Anita Yip... The Thousand Bloom – A Chrysanthemum Grows in Chinatown. Photo: The Chinatown Project

Through the festival, visitors also went on a scavenger hunt throughout Chinatown to visit all 8 businesses and organizations activated with Experience Chinatown window murals. Thank you to our artists, Dana Balletta, Fu'una, Katelyn Lipton, ponnapa prakkamakul, Yuko Okabe, Sam Lê Shave, and Nell Valle, and host sites, APM Coffee, WakuWaku, Shōjō Boston, Sasaki, Q Restaurant, Happy Lamb Hot Pot, and BCNC for welcoming the murals from September 1 – October 27, 2024.

Chulan Huang, Mayor Michelle Wu’s Chinatown Liaison, even presented Pao Arts Center with a special award from the Mayor and the City of Boston acknowledging Pao Arts Center’s “invaluable contributions to the arts and for fostering cultural connections that strengthen our community.”

Special thanks to the performers who brought their energy and passion to the main stage at Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park on the Greenway, to the public artists, partners, sponsors, 45 volunteers including those from the BCNC Bamboo Circle, and to the audience members for taking collective action for a healthy Chinatown.

APM coffee: 99 Kneeland Street |Community Garden | Katelyn Lipton. Photo: Mel Taing.

66 Hudson Street at One Greenway: 66Hudson Street | Sasaki: 68 Hudson Street | The Beginning is Always Today | ponnapa prakkamakul. Photo: Mel Taing.

WakuWaku: 2 Tyler Street | Connected by Fate | Dana Balletta. Photo: Mel Taing.

Shōjō Boston: 9A Tyler Street | A Breath into the Future | Sam Lê Shave. Photo: Mel Taing.

Q Restaurant: 660 Washington Street | Hot Pot: Balance in the Myriad | Yuko Okabe. Photo: Mel Taing.

Happy Lamb Hot Pot: 693 Washington Street | Clean Air for Chinatown | Fu’una. Photo: Mel Taing.

BCNC (Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center): 38 Ash Street | Chinatown's Glowing Lanterns| Nell Valle and BCNC Youth Center. Photo Mel Taing.

The festival opened on September 1, with murals created by visual artists who collaborated with local businesses to respond to this year’s theme. Artists integrated color and design infuse distinct motifs reflecting the diverse background of the artist’s personal experiences and blend with the cultural fabric in Chinatown. Mural installations are core to the Experience Chinatown Festival and have rapidly grown as a counterpoint to the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate, and its outsized influence on Asian-owned businesses. Through pairing art with local business, we proudly answer the question, “What collective actions can we take for a healthy Chinatown?” with a resounding and coordinated effort to great effect and will remain on view through October 27.