Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Know I don’t have any background with either of these ethnicity’s but I do have friends who do! I’ve also just have had such a deep respect for their cultures especially with how much they connect back to the spirit world and to nature herself. But less about me and more about the event itself!

Basic info

The event took place at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) on this past Friday May 9th, 2025. The ticket was actually a pay what you which was shocking since the event would be taking place during PMA’s weekly Friday lounge hours (5pm – 8pm) which has admission starting at $15. When checking out the website to buy a ticket they had listed the different activities that would be available as well as those who arrive early will get the chance to score a limited edition gift.

ACtivities

So the Friday night lounges usually have a performance of some kind, unlimited access to non-special galleries, and guided tours. But for AAPI Heritage month, there was a variety of correlating activities. To start Cynthia Zhou who is a Philly native, artist, and poet was present at the event! She was inspiring and guiding others to create their own kites based on her most recent illustration Every Railroad Runs West, 2025. They also had other local tattoo artists such as Iza Hu , Ricky Star and Monica Rastogi. Hu was giving out free temporary tattoo designs of her’s which absolutely incredible and one of a kind. Hu was also selling these gorgeous tiger prints which I had bought. But before we head to watch the performances, perhaps our tummies have been growling quite a bit! Luckily Baby’s Kusina + Market was present! I had just eaten dinner so I didn’t grab a big bite, although the Kanto Chicken sammy was quite popular amongst museum goers. I had bought the veggie lumpia which is like a spring roll but it is created with a thin pastry wrap and are usually longer in length. Also it looked like the presentation of the filling was different but I am not able to describe it. To top it off, it was served with a side of sweet chili dipping. It was absolutely delicious, not super greasy, easy to eat, and was a simple cleanup. Now with our stomachs full, we can head to sit on the museum steps and watch the performance.

Taiko

So I’ll start with talking about the band so I can set the scene. The group goes by the name of Casual Fifth which contains about 10 members and they focus on taiko and modern contemporary dance. So what is Taiko? And what does it have to do with AAPI? Well, the members are not only incredible talented when it comes to play the instrument, but are also very knowledgeable on its history and roots. So to start, Taiko is referring to the instrument itself, a large drum that can be made from Keyaki, a type of Japanese tree, topped with cowhide and played with a set of bachi, which is the wooden sticks used to play the drum. During the performance, there were a couple examples of different taiko drums specifically how they were positioned. I believe the two stands that were used was a naname which is the shorter angled stand and then the tower stand is called a yagura. With the inclusion of playing drums and what I believe is a traditional type of singing, they also had a couple performances involving different types of dancing and cymbal playing.

I hope the PMA continues to hold celebrations like this for all heritages it’s such an easy and small way to keep those outside of the community to remain educated and accessible.

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful day!