Kansas City’s AAPIconic festival is a ‘love letter’ to Asian communities

This year’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival is expected to be three times bigger than last year’s. Through vendors and performances, the Cafe Cà Phê owner wants to showcase the many different cultures included in the label and help others connect with each other.
Nearly 40 vendors and 10 performers will gather for the second annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival hosted by Cafe Cà Phê Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Food trucks and vendor booths will line Columbus Square Park, just a few blocks from the Vietnamese coffee shop.

For Jackie Nguyen, owner of Cafe Cà Phê, the festival is about creating space for Asian and Pacific Islander people in Kansas City. She calls it “a love letter to the Kansas City AAPI community.”