Bringing a sense of community for the Asian American and Pacific Islander population in Connecticut. A Lunar New Year celebration Saturday brought hundreds of people to Wethersfield.
Elaborate dances and striking performances were on display at the Lunar New Year celebration at the Wethersfield Community Center.
For Binna Yoon, this is something she never thought she would see growing up in Connecticut as a Korean adoptee.
“There was not any Asian community. Not that I wasn’t part of it. It just didn’t exist,” she said.
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The celebration bringing together different cultures across Asia and the Pacific, bringing exposure to underrepresented groups, Yoon says it’s an excellent learning experience.
“We all have different things and there’s tons I don’t know about some of these communities so it’s great to be here to share all of that with everyone and learn,” she said.
About 700 people signed up for the event, which led to registration being shut down weeks before the celebration due to capacity.
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Quan Tran, co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Coalition says it’s a testament to how much the AAPI community has grown in the state.
“We are now at 200,000 people across the state of Connecticut. That’s five percent of the state,” she said.
Tran says this celebration comes at a time when the community navigated the struggles of the pandemic and pushed back on AAPI hate.
“Asian Americans have always been building. We have always been thriving, even through difficult challenges,” Tran said.
Yoon says she already sees her community thriving.
“So to know there are so many in such a small state, it’s a really cool thing,” she said.
