Asian American Coalition of Chicago will host its 20th Anniversary Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, March 1 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. This year's gala welcomes The Year of the Ram, 4701. Ticket sales are already underway for the popular star-studded event, which usually attracts over 1,100 people. Tickets are available on a first-funded, first-seated basis. Every year a different Asian community takes turn playing host of Lunar New Year. This year it is the Indian American community, which has twice before held the gavel (in 1987 and 1995) for the community's most important event of the year. The program schedule is wide and varied to suit the tastes of many. Seminars are from 4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.; a silent auction opens at 4 p.m.; cocktail reception, social hour, political forum and exhibits are open from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.; opening ceremonies are at 6:30 p.m.; with dinner, fashion show, awards ceremony, entertainment and a fabulous Asian cultural program scheduled until 10 p.m. Dancing until midnight follows.
The Coalition's celebration theme this year is "Many Voices, One Vision," (a repeat of the theme chosen by the AAC in 1999). The Coalition will award the recipients of its 2003 Community Service Awards and its prestigious Pan Asian American Ping Tom Memorial Award that evening. The Coalition renamed its Pan Asian Award in 1996 after the late legendary civic leader Ping Tom. Ping Tom was also one of the 13 original founders of the Asian American Coalition. The nomination process for the Coalition's annual Community Service Awards, the Pan Asian American Ping Tom Memorial Award and its Grand Asian Award, which is periodically presented to a friend of the Asian Pacific American community of non-Asian descent, is currently underway. According to the latest Census, the Asian Pacific American population in Illinois numbers approximately 428,213, or 3.4% of the statewide population. Approximately 71,469 Asian Pacific Americans reside in DuPage County, comprising 7.9% of DuPage County's population, with the bulk of the other 262,731 residents of Cook County, comprising 4.8% of Cook County's population. The 2000 Census shows that Asian Pacific Americans reside in Chicago in communities including West Rogers Park, Albany Park, Uptown, Armour Square and Bridgeport, and in suburban Cook County in communities including Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Skokie. (Source: Irene Cualoping)