AAPI Montclair

05/21/2026

Help light up the night ✨ Dedicate a lantern in honor or remembrance of a person, with a message, or for a hope you hold for our communities.

Give at tinyurl.com/AAPINJgive and select the checkbox “Give in honor/memory.” Each dedication will be placed on a lantern displayed throughout the park during Lantern Festival 2026.

Dedications of $250 or more will become part of a special lantern installation.

Your support, whether $5 or $500, helps make this evening possible and brings us closer to our Heritage Month goal of 300+ individual donors.

Note: Lanterns remain part of the shared experience in the park and are not taken home at the end of the night, as they will be reused for future Lantern Festivals.

Help light up the night ✨ Dedicate a lantern in honor or remembrance of a person, with a message, or for a hope you hold for our communities.

Give at tinyurl.com/AAPINJgive and select the checkbox “Give in honor/memory.” Each dedication will be placed on a lantern displayed throughout the park during Lantern Festival 2026.

Dedications of $250 or more will become part of a special lantern installation.

Your support, whether $5 or $500, helps make this evening possible and brings us closer to our Heritage Month goal of 300+ individual donors.

Note: Lanterns remain part of the shared experience in the park and are not taken home at the end of the night, as they will be reused for future Lantern Festivals.

05/08/2026

Transportation available from Montclair! Sign up here: https://aapinewjersey.org/event/asian-american-advocacy-day-2026/

Students, come claim your seat at the table. On May 18th, at Advocacy Day, youth participants will have the opportunity to meet directly with the Governor’s Office.
Come learn, take action, and speak up for what matters to you and your communities.

🗓 May 18 | NJ State House, Trenton
🎓 Virtual training provided in advance
Transportation available from Montclair, NJ

RSVP: https://aapinewjersey.org/event/asian-american-advocacy-day-2026/

05/08/2026

Groovin' for AAPI New Jersey! Get tickets: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/communitev/event/giveandgroove

05/06/2026

A special small business spotlight this AAPI Heritage Month 💛 Montclair local Chef Hong-ly Lao

If you joined us at last year’s gala, you might remember his private dinner auction that sparked a bidding war. Now he’s reopening his Chef’s Table to the community.

Supper club l’Appartement 2C is back on May 30 and June 5. Reserve your seat: honglylao.com

As he says, “Come as strangers, leave as friends.” Experience an intimate tasting menu blending French technique with bold Cambodian flavors, shared among good company!

📸captured by our dear community member and friend, Wendy!

04/29/2026

We’re proud to partner with organizations across New Jersey working to strengthen civic engagement and representation for our communities for Asian American Advocacy Day 2026!

Join us to speak directly with legislators about our communities’ needs. No experience needed! 🎓 Virtual training is available beforehand so you feel prepared and confident. NJ students in grades 6–12 are also eligible for one state-excused absence to attend a civic event like this.

You’ll get real experience advocating for policy, with opportunities to join a rally, sit in on a voting session, and see how decisions are made.

🗓 Monday, May 18, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
📍 NJ State House, Trenton
🍽 Breakfast & lunch provided
🚌 Optional transportation available from Montclair

RSVP at https://aapinewjersey.org/event/asian-american-advocacy-day-2026/

If you’ve been thinking about getting more involved in community action, this is a great place to start!

04/20/2026

💛 Happy National Volunteer Week!

So much of what we do starts with people showing up for each other. Whether you’ve joined us at an event, helped organize behind the scenes, or spoken up for our communities, you’ve helped make this work happen. We’re so grateful for the time, care, and energy you give to this community.

📝 Interested in getting involved? Take a look at upcoming volunteer opportunities:
https://aapinewjersey.org/get-involved/

04/19/2026

NEXT SUNDAY is Color Run 2026! The color has arrived. Race shirts are in. All we need is YOU!

If you haven't registered yet, what are you waiting for?? 👉https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/Bloomfield/AAPIMontclairColorRun

Run OR walk through a closed course as you’re splashed with color along the way!
We can’t wait to celebrate Holi and Songkran with a morning of movement, laughter, and community in Brookdale Park.

✨ Event highlights:
• Thai drummers and dancers to kick off the event
• Group stretches before each race
• Kids Fun Zone with color and water play and crafts
• Festive photo area
• Chai, mango sticky rice, and more from local businesses

📸 by Fred Mastromarino, Punil Shah and Melissa Vecchiarelli

04/16/2026

Hey CD-11, today is Special General Election Day! 🗳️
If you haven’t voted yet during early voting, make your vote count today.

📍 Vote in person: 6:00 AM – 8:00 PM at your polling place
📬 Voting by mail? Placed in a secure drop box, or delivered in person to your Board of Elections office by 8 PM!
🔎 Find your polling place or secure drop box locations: VOTE.NJ.GOV

04/08/2026

Early in-person voting has begun in CD-11 for the Special General Election! 🗳️
Vote at a time that works for your schedule.

🔎 Find your county’s early voting locations: www.VOTE.NJ.GOV
Your early voting location may be different from your usual polling place on Election Day.

Want to vote by mail? Deadline to apply for a Mail-In Ballot by mail is this Thursday, April 9.

Make a plan and make your voice heard!

04/08/2026

Join Montclair Public Library for another great author conversation! Co-presented by AAPI New Jersey
➡️ Register now at https://tinyurl.com/OBOMStrangers

Explore the power and diversity of the Chinese-American experience! Michael Luo, journalist & executive editor of The New Yorker discusses his landmark study, “Strangers in the Land” with Matthew Purdy, editor at large of The New York Times.

“You can’t paint a complete picture of America without [the story of Chinese Americans], and the New Yorker journalist Michael Luo tells it persuasively in ‘Strangers in the Land‘… [The book] succeeds through its little biographies of individuals – a range of quirky and fascinating figures, both Chinese and white, who drive the narrative. . . [and offer] a view on the full complexity of American immigration.” ―The New York Times Book Review

Doors open at 6 p.m. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and book sales and signing with Watchung Booksellers