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Utah Asian Festival

Utah Asian Festival
9575 South State Street,

Mission and History

In 1978, the AAU board started the First Asian Festival at Salt Palace by sharing the pageantry of traditions and culture of Asian American communities with performance, exhibits,s, and food. The main mission is to educate the general public about the diversities and contributions of Asian Americans.

The Asian Association of Utah was formed in September 1977 when late Governor Scott Matheson wanted to relocate Southeast Asian refugees from Camp Pendleton in California to Utah. He founded a small seed grant in creating AAU as a community coalition and nonprofit agency. Jimi Mitsunaga, Joe Azarcon, Chung Myun Lee, and Lang Wong were the initial incorporators. AAU began in serving Southeast Asian refugees and currently, it provides services to refugees and immigrants from all languages.