With the holidays just around the corner, Hing Hay Coworks and the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA) are collaborating on the second annual Winter AAPI Arts and Crafts Fair to be held on November 30. The biannual event brings the API and Chinatown-International District community together to celebrate heritage and increase awareness of Asian American businesses and artists.
The event is being held at Hing Hay Coworks and, according to Connie Ay Yeung, communications and marketing coordinator for CIDBIA, will “provid[e] a new market venue for artists to sell their original arts and crafts in the Seattle Chinatown International District.”
As a co-host, the CIDBIA will be bringing their own niche to the fair. Au-Yeong describes the event as a way for AAPI artists and food vendors to generate a boost of revenue and patronage.
“We will have the Holiday Happy Hour Food Walk outside at Hing Hay Park. It will be a self-guided tour with menus which attendees can grab at our information booth, “ Connie Au-Yeuog said. “We are looking to give more exposure to these businesses in hopes that it will bring in more patrons.”
The happy hour food walk consists of different categories and ranges in price per stop from $2 to $6. As up-and-coming businesses in Chinatown-International District (CID) that are making appearances in Seattle’s food scene, the CIDBIA hopes to bring exposure to these small local businesses.
“We also want to emphasize that each vendor has complete sovereignty of the items they choose have on their menus,” Au-Yeong said.
In addition, CIDBA will have a raffle where attendees can win prizes, and they will be partnering with Asian Counseling Referral Services (ACRS) to gain support for their food bank drive. Both groups are encouraging people to drop off any non- perishable food donations at the CIDBA info booth.
Hing Hay Coworks is hosting the Arts and Crafts portion of the event. Hing Hay Coworks program coordinator, Miran Kim, said the event enables the Asian American community to come together and celebrate its heritage through locally-made art. “It won’t just be paintings but also ceramics, jewelry, crocheting, and knitting,” Kim said.
And, of course, the arts and crafts fair takes place in the midst of the holiday season — it is also a great opportunity for any gift shopping that needs to be done, “and it’s a good way to shop locally and support small businesses, by purchasing handmade items that are meaningful and personal,” Kim said.
Patrons and attendees can expect to see crochet sweaters, hats, greeting cards, all sorts of knick-knacks, self-care items (such as soup and candles), and much more. Furthermore, vendors from previous arts and crafts fair are expected to make an appearance. This will be a great opportunity to revisit any of your favorite local vendors that you might have missed from past events.
A good tip for local Asian and Pacific Islander creatives who are looking to register and showcase their craft, is to keep an eye out for their “vendors-call”, posted by Hing Hay Coworks via Facebook and various networks (art dept at UW, SPOCS page, etc) two months prior to the event. You send in an application which requires a description of your craft, your creative process, the ways in which your identity influences your art, and a photo of your craft. It will then be reviewed by a committee. Being selected to participate in the fair also depends on the capacity of the event, which can range from engaging 20-25 vendors.
The Winter AAPI Arts and Crafts Fair takes place Saturday, November 30, between noon and 6:00 PM at Hing Hay Coworks in the CID. The food walk will be outside at Hing Hay Park and the art fair will be inside Hing Hay Coworks.
Vendors so far include: Pencil and Post, Kapatid Kollective, Bathing Beauteas, Crafty Cherry, IoGoodnezz, Monica Tie Art, Shhmiggles, Mo’mochi, Angelica Sta. Teresa, Aldo Chan, StudioLG, Seven Spice Studio, Starjelly, Magwayen, Tales of Art, Olympic Candle, itscathywu, The Athlier, More than a text, Buniiru and Aikrochet.
For more information:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-aapi-arts-crafts-fair-tickets-39712707778
https://www.facebook.com/events/389385678641918/
