Pop star Masumi.
SAN DIEGO–Japanese pop star Masumi will headline this year’s entertainment lineup for the Seventh annual Asian Heritage Awards to be held Saturday, July 10, aboard the USS Midway in downtown San Diego.
An accomplished dancer trained in classical music, Masumi has captured the pop music world with her crossover hit single “Slow Down,” from her album “Baby You,” which soared to No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles Sales. Masumi has entertained fans throughout Japan and now the US, particularly California, where she continues to excite American audiences with her up-tempo electric sound.
The One Dream Children’s Choir, under the direction of Darleen Herriman, will open the awards ceremony with its rendition of “One World, One Dream,” written by Wang Lee Hom for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The Asian Heritage Awards, which honors achievement in the Asian Pacific Islander community, will also feature the Silk Road Dancers and the Royal Thai Cultural Ballet.
Each year, The Asian Heritage Society and newspaper ASIA collect nominations from the community for recognition at the awards. This year, the 14 categories include the names of 72 individuals and organizations nominated by the community. Those names were placed on an email ballot mailed to 24,000 subscribers and added to www.asianheritageawards.com and www.asianheritagesociety.org for voting. The top vote getters will be announced during the ceremony, emceed by KFMB Channel 8’s Marcella Lee and KGTV Channel 10’s Robert Santos. Last year, there were over 46,000 votes.
The highlight of the ceremony will be a special tribute to San Diego icon Tom Hom, the first Asian American elected to the San Diego City Council and only third person of Asian descent elected to the California Assembly. After a distinguished political career, which included paving the way for a new sports stadium in Mission Valley that would become home to professional baseball’s San Diego Padres and football’s San Diego Chargers, Hom went on to lead a revival of downtown’s Gaslamp Quarter District, as well as San Diego’s Chinatown.
In addition to the Asian Heritage Society, sponsors include the Avery Tsui Foundation, Ford Motor Fund, the U.S. Navy, Phamatech, Barona Resort and Casino, Cox Communications, The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, DDH Enterprise Inc., United Parcel Service, Julia Cheng Pinnacle Financial, Gingi, Tabe, Thai Spice Restaurants and Best Western, along with media partners US Asian Wire and New America Media, which reaches more than 1,000 ethnic media outlets across America.
To reserve tickets or a table, or for sponsorship information, call (619)408-9928. All proceeds benefit the Asian Heritage Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserve the legacy of Asian Americans in Southern California.
For more details or information, visit www.asiamediainc.com, www.asianheritageawards.com, or call (619) 408-9928.
