Imagining modern intersectional Asian American communities, neighborhoods, and districts.
Legendary Makers Market
This became our flagship event and was a culmination of all preceding events rolled into one. It featured a night market and intentionally included other mediums for storytelling. art workshops, film screenings, mixers, wellness, performances, and more.
I took a pause on this and Hope We Get Rich! to focus on my run for Portland City Council which has come to an end, and now redirecting the experience I have garnered to run for the PPS Board in Zone 2.
Past Events & Programs
Through intentional collaborations, we explore the space-related needs of our Asian American community. Each one focuses on a specific interest, industry, community, culture/ethnic background, or localization.
This allows us to think broadly and deeply as we make a case for acquiring physical spaces in the future. Our goal is to create opportunities for a more connected community, introductory points, and upward mobility. As well as, focal points for joint community investment.
If you would like to collaborate with us please send an email to asianamericantown@gmail.com.
This is also a self-funded project and outside of a handful of grants has managed to make an outsized impact thanks to incredible partnerships, and the creativity of the Asian American community that continues to provide reasons to gather and celebrate our accomplishments together.
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Debuted an Asian American Pitch Competition with the support of Tong Zhang and Zhou Fang, it consisted of several parts. An initial pitch, a panel, a Korean American Block Party, and final pitch hosted at Latino Founders!
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Our third edition of the Legendary Makers Market was as big as ever and boasted Oregon’s largest collection of unique Asian food vendors. Taking a pause in 2026 to focus on other projects with plans to return in the future.
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With support from the City of Beaverton, Oregon we were able to expand upon our delivery for the first Legendary Makers Market. We were joined by over 200 vendors and partners to take over a space nearly 4x the size of our first venue. This time we were able to include theater performances, panels, mixers, and more family-friendly activities.
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Presented in partnership with the AREAA Portland Chapter during their annual gala. We were able to present ten community members who have made a huge impact with custom ceramic awards.
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In partnership with the Portland Night Market we produced the largest Asian-centered event in Oregon's history.
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This localized casual hangout was hosted by Amii Chong and provided an excuse to explore the local Asian American community in St. Johns. A small group of local business owners, residents, and visitors enjoyed a potluck style lunch and the classic unpredictable weather Oregon is well known for.
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We worked closely with Whitney Handrich and were hosted by Tara at the Bhakti Yoga Movement Center for a networking event for Asian Americans in the wellness space. It was an opportunity to share expertise and building deeper connections for over a dozen practitioners.
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This event was done in collaboration with Jeanie Mai (now current President of Portland’s Junior League chapter), Jillette Nguyen, and Nan (our host and owner of Mestizo & Norah). We welcomed a powerhouse group of panel speakers and breakout session leaders to provide an aspirational and intimate experience for over 40 attendees.
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This event was named Mirrors & Windows. It was co-organized with BIPOC Adoptees, Yeondae, and Mai Li and held at General Industry. It centered storytelling and was the first major pan-Asian Adoptee event with participants flying in from all over the country. We invited other Asian Americans to share space and hear these stories in acknowledgement that we are all part of a the same community.
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We worked to promote and support planning for the Portland Premiere screening of Gabby Smashes by working closely with its creator Luann Algoso and their co-producers (Christian Henry and Eva Moss). This indie production featuring the life of a Filipina’s experience working at an Asian nonprofit had been put on pause for years due to COVID and we are happy to say they are pursuing a season two of the show.
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This was a small curated experience for about a dozen Asian American community members in collaboration with Fukuhara Productions, Kanon Havens, Anthony Hou, and hosted by Desert Island Studios. The event provided an opportunity to step in front of the camera and create media assets (video/photo).
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This was a collaboration with Alana Rich the founder of Pop Fever, Jonas Anglet and hosted by Portland Center Stage as part of their First Thursday programming. It was an opportunity to present a diverse group of Asian American musicians and vendors to an audience that ranged in the hundreds.
The performance lineup included Jai Baby, Rain Ezra, Victoria Yabut, and Alana Rich with guest performances by Swiggle Mandela and Taryn. Shoutout to Echo the Savage for being our MC and oneTRAK as our DJ and Jessie supporting on drums. Our vendors included HeyDay Donuts, Potato Desk, BBTea Jars, ProRoot Collective, Allie Falco, and Hey Doc Clinic. -
This event was themed as described. It was done in collaboration with Sunny Hatch the former GM of Psychic Bar and now owner/creator of Frybaby.
We welcomed several dozen guests to experience a curated menu of food by two food cart owners (Sun of Fomo Chicken & Tina and Kelly of Broken Rice), specialty drinks by Sunny Hatch, and background music by oneTRAK.
We are Portland, Oregon based but are actively reaching out to other organizations and individuals that share our values across the country.
Get in touch if you would to collaborate or have your business/organization added to any of our guides and maps.
Land Acknowledgment
The Portland Metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. Indigenous people have created communities and summer encampments to harvest and enjoy the plentiful natural resources of the area for the last 11,000 years.
We want to recognize that Portland today is a community of many diverse Native peoples who continue to live and work here. We respectfully acknowledge and honor all Indigenous communities—past, present, future—and are grateful for their ongoing and vibrant presence.
We also acknowledge the systemic policies of genocide, relocation, and assimilation that still impact many Indigenous/Native American families today. As settlers and guests on these lands, we respect the work of Indigenous leaders and families, and pledge to make ongoing efforts recognize their knowledge, creativity, and resilience.
Asian American Town does not tolerate sexism, racism, colorism, homophobia, biphobia, interphobia and transphobia or hostility, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, white supremacist activity, age discrimination, ableism as well as other and/or intersectional forms of discrimination.