On June 18, the Chinatown-International District (CID) Summer Kickoff and Wing Luke Museum’s JamFest welcomed thousands of community members to a block party along King Street. The event also hosted over 830 participants to achieve the Guinness World Record for the Largest Dim Sum Gathering.
Tuyen Than was the primary organizer for the world record attempt and is the Executive Director of the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA). She began planning for the attempt beginning last August and was inspired by the Rave Foundation’s Guinness World Record attempt for the largest soccer lesson, which was broken on June 15, 2025, during the opening weekend of the FIFA Club World Cup. Originally, she thought about world records related to mahjong, but wanted to make it more accessible.
Before the CID’s attempt, Australia held the record for largest dim sum-eating gathering, at 764 participants. The event occurred the day before the USA vs. Australia World Cup match on June 19, which was a coincidence to create another competition with the country.
“So we have over 300 businesses in the CID, and about like 50% of them are restaurants and retail. Thinking about food, I searched up dim sum from there, I was like, okay, that seems like an attainable goal, and it just so happened that it was Australia,” said Than.
For participants to be counted, four dim sum pieces each had to be eaten. Dim sum was provided by Jade Garden. Originally, organizers planned to source it from other CID restaurants, but logistical problems prevented this. The attempt was funded by the The Asian American Foundation, SeattleFWC26, Marpac Construction, Uwajimaya, the Office of Arts and Culture and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF), alongside community donated volunteer hours and sponsorships, totally over $75,000 to organize.
“One of my values is to continue to reinvest back into the neighborhood. I try to get everything as much as I can from the businesses that are here,” said Than, “So, in some way, shape or form, we’re going to involve as many of the businesses as possible.”
Than referenced that in 2023, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Seattle Chinatown-International District (CID) to list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, making it the first time Washington State neighborhood was on the list since it was established in 1988.
“Well, now it’s a world record-breaking neighborhood and broke this record for the largest dim sum meal. And so what was something that I could do that could change that narrative,” said Than, “In this position, in interviews, a lot of the questions that I get are around public safety, and I wanted to create something that people would naturally talk about in a positive light.”
Bernadette B. was a volunteer at the CID Summer Kickoff and signed up after seeing the event’s Instagram promotion request for support.
“The turnout has been awesome,” Bernadette said. ”I’ve invited a lot of my friends who don’t usually come to CID and they’ve come out to see the dim sum attempt and visit all the vendors and everything. It’s nice to see more things being thrown in the CID area, especially during such a busy time with the World Cup.”
The CID Summer Kickoff organized more than 80 street food, shopping, art market and independent vendors, as well as cultural performances.
“It’s more of the fact that it’s like a collective effort. I think that is really powerful and speaks to how unique and special our neighborhood is, beyond the food, like, just that spirit of community. That’s why I doubled down on the Guinness event,” said Than.
Future events in the CID promoted by the organizers include:
- Hoa Mai Blooming: July 11 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hoa Mai Park
- Final Match Watch Party: July 19 at Theatre Off Jackson
- World Soccer Trivia: July 18 to 19, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. at Uwajimaya
- Summer Food Walk: July 25 and August 29 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hong Ta (she/her) is a news writer from South Seattle and grew up going to the CID, specifically in Little Saigon. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound with degrees in Political Science and Spanish. You can read more of her work at thienhongta.com.
