The Cambodian Community Day (CDD) joined the Asian and Pacific Islander Cultural Celebration (APICC) as part of the Mayor's May Asian Pacific American Heritage Month activities on Saturday, May 10, 2008, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Historical Society of Washington, DC.

More than 10 members participated in this exciting celebration, showcasing a variety of items from Cambodia including Apsara, Angkor Watt, Bayon statues, Khmer’s customs and varieties of Khmer’s textiles and silks, including scarfs, sarongs and handbags. We also displayed a book about Angkor Watt, musical instruments and others hand craft items that reflected on Cambodian rich culture. Our booth was very well represented; we were pleased to see visitors who stopped by and asked questions about our culture and some asked to take pictures of our table with the CCD members. We gave out flyers about CCD’s event in August, encouraging people to attend.

This free festival featured all things Asian which were a lot of fun and very educational. Most of the exhibitors were from the Embassies and other cultural groups. It showcased the Asian performances and artistic works (e.g., dance, song, or music) and demonstration of arts, such as flower arrangement, hands-on crafts (e.g., puppet making or paper folding). The even included the dance shows of Samoa , Fiji , Hawaii , and a spectacular Korean drummer’s ensemble along with the beautiful Korean dances. We were also amused by the Chinese dragon dance which is the highlight of the afternoon celebration.

A fun way to learn this is to attend one of the many festivals scheduled this month to celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.