Asian American Alliance, Inc. celebrates AAPI Heritage Month with light show and festival

The Asian American Alliance, Inc. (AAAI) is kicking off Indianapolis’ celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a light and sound show. In partnership with Downtown Indy, AAAI’s light and sound show takes place May 3 at 9 p.m. on Monument Circle with a reception beginning at 7:45 p.m. at Barnes & Thornburg. The four-minute program is the first Asian American legacy show in Indiana and will be beamed on the AES building after dusk on weekends throughout the month of May, said Rupal Thanawala, president of AAAI. “Asian American Pacific Islander Month is May, so we wanted to make sure that you know, we are talking about and celebrating through the month of May,” Thanawala said. “We just thought this is one way to engage our community and talk about Asian Americans and our legacy in the state, which isn’t really done a lot.” AAAI is celebrating 25 years of service, which means the Asian Festival will look a little different this year, Thanawala said. It is the second year AAAI is partnering with the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) to host the festival, which will feature around 30 community partners ,outreach organizations and local food and business...