KILLEEN, Texas — Hundreds of people from across Texas made their way to Downtown Killeen to celebrate the Asian Pacific community at the 6th annual Central Texas Asian Pacific Festival.
The festival is held during the month of May because of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The festival brings in a taste of Asian and Pacific culture from cultural food, clothing, music and more.
"We need to be able to continue to share the cultures, the arts and the traditions through music and through arts of the islands," Event co-organizer Bonita Jackson explained. "We want to continue to share it for generations and generations so it will never be forgotten."
Numerous performers from across the state of Texas and even some from the Central Texas area performed on stage and demonstrated cultural traditions to the community.
Cultural performances include traditional dances, music and demonstrations from the various groups belonging to the AAPI community.
"It means a lot to me to be able to perform my childhood for other people," Performer Malika Richards said.
The event was free and hosted over 50 local vendors.
Vendors who specialize in selling cultural art, jewelry and clothing thrive at events like this. They also have a chance to share the history behind their culture.
"It gives us the opportunity to share our cultures to everybody else in the world. A lot of what we Pacific Islanders do has now become trendy, so we love that it's being embraced more than ever," Vendor Edward Laa said.
Jackson hopes people continue to come out and support local islanders who just want to go somewhere and be themselves. She also thanks the city of Killeen for their continued support and is excited to bring the festival to Central Texas again next year.