APAPA Buffalo-Niagara Chapter

The NYS Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission will be in Buffalo on September 30 for a community meeting and listening session.

This is an opportunity for AAPI community members, leaders, organizations, and residents to share their experiences, concerns, ideas, and priorities directly with the Commission.

Wednesday, September 30, 2026
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Buffalo State University
Jacqueline Vito LoRusso Alumni & Visitor Center
667 Grant Street, Buffalo, NY 14213

Dinner will be provided!

Your voice matters, and we encourage everyone to join us and help shape the future of New York’s AAPI communities.

👉 Register here:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=6rhs9AB5EE2M64Dowcge52z_SgcSnTdIpOHCbaZEaXZUNTlDSkhHNUZFVThTUFROSFc2QkEwOE9OVi4u&route=shorturl

Proud to share that members of the APAPA Buffalo-Niagara Chapter leadership and volunteer team were recognized with the Congressional Award in Cultural Excellence as part of the Heritage 250 celebration:

Jun Wang-Tiedemann, Prachee Samant, Emily Wu, Jeeva Seevaratnam, Mustafa Gokcek, Roksana Rafique, Faustina Palmatier, and Logan Sauer.

Today, we were also proud to join the 88th Annual Pulaski Day Parade, celebrating alongside our Polish American neighbors and continuing to build connections across communities.

Thank you to the General Pulaski Association for welcoming APAPA to this longstanding community tradition, and to New York State 250th Commemorative Commission, Erie County, and Congressman Timothy Kennedy for recognizing the contributions of community leaders across our region.

Different heritages. Shared community. Stronger together.

A Summer of Culture, Community, and Civic Connection

What a summer it has been for APAPA Buffalo-Niagara.

Throughout the year, our chapter has continued to bring communities together through celebrations such as Lunar New Year, Eid, and Diwali. These traditions remain an important part of who we are. But this summer, our work also took us beyond our own cultural celebrations and into some of Western New York’s most visible public and civic spaces.

On August 16, APAPA participated in Unfinished Revolution at the Richardson Hotel, joining the broader America 250 conversation through history, cultural representation, reflection, and civic dialogue.

Just five days later, on August 21, APAPA Day at the Erie County Fair brought together one of our most diverse cultural programs yet.

Throughout the day, artists and organizations shared Karen, Japanese, Bengali, Indian, Chinese, Turkish, Kazakh, Tamil, and multilingual musical traditions with Fair visitors from across Western New York.

We were grateful to welcome the Karen Youth of Buffalo, JGB Shibuki Drumming Group, Buffalo Hindu Parishad Temple & Cultural Center, CCWNY Fanghua Dance Ensemble, and Buffalo Shakthi Tamil Association Inc., along with an extraordinary group of individual artists and musicians including Vaishali Maheshkar, Grace Tiedemann, Purnima Mohan, Natasha Seth, Poulomi Konar, Ira Sahu, Aria Knechtges, Alisha Govindaraj, Furkan Cat, Arman Bussakan, Roksana Rafique, and BUF BOY’z.

But APAPA Day extended well beyond the stage.

Moneybags Dumplings, Buffalo’s Vada Pav, and Mochi Studio shared culture through food and culinary traditions, while Buffalo United for Peace, Chinese Club of Western New York, the New York State Office of Language Access, Buffalo Shakthi Tamil Association Inc., Karen Society of Buffalo, and APAPA Buffalo-Niagara welcomed visitors through community outreach, cultural displays, information, and conversation.

Together, they transformed APAPA Day into a true community platform: culture to see, food to taste, people to meet, and organizations to discover.

Then, on September 5, our summer journey continued at 716 Celebrates: Stars, Stripes and Signers at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park, part of the broader America 250 / New York State 250 commemoration.

APAPA helped bring together another multicultural performance program featuring the CCWNY Fanghua Dance Ensemble, Nusantara Arts, classical Kathak artist Ira Sahu, Roksana Rafique, Grace Tiedemann, and BUF BOY’z.

The performances moved across cultures and generations, from Chinese dance and classical Indian Kathak to Indonesian dance, Bangladeshi music, and contemporary multilingual vocals.

And the public responded.

The crowds gathered. They stayed. They applauded.

It was a powerful reminder that AAPI arts and culture have the ability not only to preserve heritage, but also to bring people together across backgrounds and create a shared sense of belonging.

We are especially grateful to those who continued to show up throughout the summer. APAPA Board Member Roksana Rafique, for example, shared her talents at both APAPA Day at the Erie County Fair and 716 Celebrates at the Naval Park, bringing music, cultural storytelling, and her own commitment to community to both stages.

None of this happens because of one person or one organization.

We are deeply grateful to every artist, cultural organization, food partner, vendor, volunteer, public partner, community leader, family, and audience member who trusted us, participated, collaborated, and helped make these programs possible.

We are also proud of the APAPA Buffalo-Niagara board members who planned, coordinated, volunteered, performed, represented our chapter, supported one another, and simply showed up when showing up mattered.

Leadership is not only what happens around a board table. It is also the work of building relationships, creating opportunities for others, connecting communities with institutions, and being present where our broader community comes together.

As this remarkable summer draws to a close, members of our current APAPA Buffalo-Niagara leadership have also been selected among Erie County’s Heritage 250 honorees and will receive the Congressional Award in Cultural Excellence, recognizing service, cultural leadership, and efforts to strengthen cross-cultural relationships throughout Erie County and Western New York.

We receive that recognition with gratitude, and with renewed responsibility for what comes next.

And we are not finished.

This fall, APAPA Buffalo-Niagara will continue this work through our AAPI Community Education Summit, bringing communities, institutions, experts, and partners together to focus on education, health, access, civic participation, and issues affecting AAPI communities across Western New York.

Because for APAPA, culture is not simply something we celebrate.

Culture creates connection.
Connection creates participation.
Participation builds stronger communities.

From cultural visibility to civic participation, we are building something together.

Thank you, Western New York, for an extraordinary summer.

Inspire. Engage. Empower.

Please consider making donation to local Buddhist Temple. Due to severe rain two days ago the temple experienced sever flooding.

Donate to Support Wat Buddhakunaram's Flood Recovery, organized by Ricky Verma Our beloved Buddhist Wat Buddhakunaram has been devastated by the recent floo… Ricky Verma needs your support for Support Wat Buddhakunaram's Flood Recovery

APAPA Buffalo Niagara was honored to participate in BASCO's 6th Annual BanglaFest 2026, a vibrant celebration of Bangladeshi culture and the rich diversity that strengthens our Western New York community.

From outstanding cultural performances and delicious cuisine to the colorful "Color of Cultures" Parade and inspiring community fellowship, BanglaFest showcased the beauty of preserving cultural heritage while building friendships across communities.

We extend our sincere gratitude to BASCO and the organizing committee for hosting another outstanding event that brought together people of all backgrounds in a spirit of unity, inclusion, and mutual respect.

At APAPA Buffalo Niagara, we are proud to stand alongside our community partners in celebrating the many cultures that make our region stronger. We look forward to continuing to build bridges, support one another, and create opportunities for meaningful connection throughout Western New York.

Thank you to everyone who made BanglaFest 2026 such a memorable celebration!

Bangladeshi American Social & Cultural Organization WNY INC. - BASCO WNY

Happy Independence Day!

As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, we reflect not only on our nation's history, but also on the many communities who continue to shape its future.

At APAPA Buffalo-Niagara, we believe patriotism and diversity go hand in hand. Every culture, every language, and every story adds strength to the American experience.

This year, we are especially proud to join local partners in commemorating America250 through education, cultural exchange, civic engagement, and community celebration.

We invite everyone to celebrate with us as we honor our shared history and continue building a future where every community belongs.

Happy Independence Day!
Here's to the next 250 years.