February 15, 2024
Provided Image/Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance
Show Your Love for Chinatown takes place from Feb. 16-25, putting a spotlight on small businesses and providing opportunities to teach about the culture and history of the neighborhood.
As plans for the 76ers proposed Center City arena move forward, small business owners in Chinatown are showcasing the community they believe is at risk of being displaced through a 10-event that starts Friday.
A coalition of Asian-American organizations is hosting Show Your Love for Chinatown, which starts Friday evening on and continues until Sunday, Feb. 25. More than 50 businesses, including restaurants, tea shops, craft stores and salons are participating.
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There will be walking tours to learn about Chinatown's history and cuisine, chances to win gift certificates to neighborhood businesses and restaurants offering discounts and promotions, similar to restaurant weeks in the larger Philly area. The extensive schedule for the 10-day celebration also lists a Lunar New Year party, a class to learn to make summer rolls, screenings of the documentaries "Save Chinatown" and "Taking Root" and conversations with local Asian-American leaders in a series called "Histories and Futures of Resistance."
There will be a tea ceremony at tea and sushi shop Bubblefish, 909 Arch St., on Wednesday, Feb. 21, hosted by owner Xu Lin, who in addition to providing opportunities to taste various teas will teach about their differences and histories.
Lin is one of the organizers of Show Your Love for Chinatown, and he said the event is intended to help the neighborhood's businesses, which are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
"We've had to help ourselves," Lin said of small business owners in Chinatown.
Show Your Love for Chinatown has been in the works for the past three to four months, and volunteers in the community have been the driving force to making it a reality. But before planning began, a trip to Vancouver by local leaders Deborah Wei of Asian American United and Jenny Zhang of the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance was the inspirational spark
While attending the U.S.-Canada Chinatown Solidarity Summit, which invited leaders from 17 different Chinatowns, Wei and Zhang learned more about the work leaders of the Chinatown neighborhood in Vancouver had done to boost its small businesses, particularly the city's autumn festival.
Organizers hope that their Philadelphia event will show Chinatown's importance to the city. Lin is among those in the neighborhood who believe that the proposed Sixers arena could destroy Chinatown. The team wants to build 76 Place on the north side of East Market Street, between 10th and 11th streets. As it is currently planned, the arena would bump up against the southern boundary of Chinatown.
Show Your Love for Chinatown organizers hope to put a spotlight on the relationship between the neighborhood and the city. "We want everyone to connect the two," Lin said.
Feb. 16-25
Times, prices and locations vary
Check schedule for more details
