Dragon Fest was held July 9 and 10 at Hing Hay Park. Treated to a new layout and attractions, families enjoyed food, vendors and a line-up of over 30 cultural performances in the two days. With help from the good weather, an estimated 22,000 attended the festival. ♦

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Crowd awaiting the Chinese Lion dance performance (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Line wrapped around the sidewalk waiting for the McDonald’s booth (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW)

Kids drawing activities at the City of Seattle’s Eco Village booth (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Evelyn Macadangdang and Louise Matsumoto at Uwajimaya’s booth (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Artist Toni Yuly shows off one of her creations (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Sam Ung, chef and owner of Phnom Penh Noodle Noodle House, demonstrates food carving to the crowd (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Festival goers playing at a mini ping pong table at City of Seattle’s Eco Village booth (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

Mob The World successfully planned another great performance (Photo provided by cidbia.org)

Seahawks’ Blue Thunder Drumline performs (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)

From left: Yemesrach Demissie, Rotary Past-President Paul Mar, and Hiroko Nakahara

The International District Rotary Club awarded scholarships to two graduating high school students. Yemesrach Demissie, who immigrated from Ethiopia to the United States in 2010, is from Franklin High School. She plans to attend the University of Washington to study dentistry. Read the full story

Dori Jones Yang and book cover, Voices of the Second Wave

“Voices of the Second Wave: Chinese Americans in Seattle,” compiled by Dori Jones Yang, is a collection of life stories of 35 people who came to the United States from China between 1934 and 1968. Based on oral interviews, this book captures the voices of a “lost generation” of immigrants, who, although cut off from their homeland and unable to completely integrate into American society, contributed greatly to the United States.

Yang, a former foreign correspondent in Hong Kong, now lives in the Seattle area. Fluent in Mandarin, she conducted the interviews in English and polished and edited each of the stories. Her book is available through Amazon.com. ♦

Reyna Rollolazo

NAAAP–Seattle awarded Reyna Rollolazo its 2011 NAAAP-Seattle College Scholarship. Rollolazo will receive $3,000 to attend the University of Washington School of Law this fall.

Reyna Rollolazo was born and raised in the south end of Seattle in the Rainier Beach area. She attended Franklin High School and graduated cum laude last June from the University of Washington with a major in law, societies, and justice, and a minor in diversity. Read the full story

Peter Park, University of Washington School of Ethnomusicology doctoral candidate, at the Shoreline Arts Festival

The Korean Cultural Room was one of the features of the 21st Annual Shoreline Arts Festival at Shoreline Center.

The room was sponsored by 4Culture and was organized by the Korean American Historical Society, Green Shoots, and Zenith Diversity.

The arts festival also featured Pacific Islander and Chinese exhibits, as well as the 15th Annual Philippine Festival. ♦

By Chris Duncan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yao Ming

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) — Houston Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming is retiring after nine NBA seasons, according to a person with direct knowledge of his decision.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Yao has not announced his plans. Yao has scheduled a July 20 news conference in Shanghai to talk about his future.

Yahoo! Sports first reported that Yao is retiring. The person says neither Yao nor his representatives have informed the league office of Yao’s decision, and the league says Yao has not filed paperwork that would make his decision final. Read the full story

By Sean Yoong
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities sought Sunday to deflect criticism that the government was suppressing dissent after making mass arrests and unleashing tear gas against at least 20,000 demonstrators who marched for electoral reforms. Read the full story

Compiled by staff
Northwest Asian Weekly

At the end of each school year, we run this column, which features some exceptional Asian American students who have made the most of their high school careers, whether it’s through academics, volunteer work, artistic endeavors, or athletics. Read the full story

Lorne McConachie of the Pioneer Square Preservation Board, Leslie Smith of the Alliance for Pioneer Square, longtime Pioneer Square resident Jan Drago, and Mayor McGinn cut the ribbon for the new Jackson Plaza. (Photo provided by City of Seattle)

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn opened the new King Street Station’s Jackson Plaza to the public on June 24, helping to connect transit to neighborhoods with an environmentally sustainable plaza. Read the full story

Sen. Cantwell (left) and Congressman Jay Inslee (Photo provided by Maria Cantwell's office)

On June 23, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Rep. Jay Inslee (WA-01) toured the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. They advocated for funding of the educational installation at the site. Read the full story

By Vivian Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

Comedy is supposed to be funny, right?

Several comedians came under fire for making homophobic jokes during their standup routines. Among these ostracized funnymen is Filipino American actor and comedian Jo Koy. Koy is best known for being a regular on the weekly late night comedy talk show “Chelsea Lately.” Read the full story

By Assunta Ng

Click to see Dragon Fest 2011 pictorial.

The right name: Dragon Fest!

Wow! What a breath of fresh air. The winning name connotes fun, suspense, and mystery. It’s short, and people can relate to the ID, Chinatown, and the Asian community without playing a guessing game. Read the full story

Chris Lu and Mark Mitsui, president of North Seattle Community College (Photo by Rebecca Ip/SCP)

President George W. Bush appointed two Asian Americans to his cabinet. The Asian community was impressed. But President Obama gave us more—three cabinet secretaries, Gary Locke, Steve Chu, and Secretary Eric Shinseki, and many other powerful appointments, including Chris Lu, one of the 25 assistants to the president since 2008. Read the full story

Guests at the summit included, from left: Daphne Kwok, chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPI’s; Christina Lagdameo, Deputy Director, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Ronnie Chatterji, Senior Economist, White House Council of Economic Advisors; Christopher Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary; Umni Song, member of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs; Kamuela Enos, member of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and director of enterprise at MA’O Organic Farms; and Hyeok Kim, member of the President’s Advisory Commission on AAPIs and executive director of Interim Community Development Association (Photo by Rebecca Ip/SCP)

By Janelle Wetzstein
UW News Lab

Sustainability is no longer just about the environment, according to White House Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu, who spoke in Seattle last weekend.   Read the full story

Left: Hope Solo, former UW Husky, will start at goalkeeper for the United States. Right: Homare Sawa scored the winning goal in Japan’s semifinal victory.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Homare Sawa made up for a huge error by scoring the go-ahead goal and Japan advanced to the World Cup final with a 3-1 victory over Sweden on Wednesday. Read the full story

By Josephine H. Kim
UW News Lab

Ji Sung Park

Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham. … These names definitely ring a bell with those that are the least bit familiar with soccer.

What about Ji Sung Park? Is he considered a legend?

“I want to push my way through [Manchester’s] star players and put my name on the list of the best 11 team,” Park said in his 2006 autobiography, “Neverending Challenge.” “I want to show the world how good Korean players are by playing well in the top flight.”

So far, he is on the right track.

Manchester United will play on Wednesday, July 20, at Qwest Field. The Sounders will host them, and a big turnout is expected.

Midfielder for Manchester United of the Premier League, at age 30, Park is already retired — from international football at least. Manchester is a professional team, drawing players from around the globe, as opposed to a national team.

After serving as captain of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Team, Park passed his instrumental spot along to younger players. In a May interview with The Sun, a British tabloid, Park said, “It was the right time to retire. Our national team has some young players who need a chance to play.” Nonetheless, many fans were sad to say goodbye. Read the full story