January 23, 2022
Petition to End the Pacific Grove Feast of Lanterns and its Anti-Asian Racism

Although the most recent Pacific Grove Recreation Board Agenda indicated the Feast of Lanterns permit was to be approved, a later errata memo was distributed recommending the permit not be approved for 2022 providing time for discussions with various stakeholders and “bring back a revised event for 2023/2024”. It is our collective opinion that the Feast of Lanterns has a long legacy of racism and cultural appropriation that is beyond revision and merits a complete termination of this event.

There are numerous concerns about staging a pageant at any point in the future that members of the broader public wish to bring to the attention of the Pacific Grove City Council.

First and foremost, there are many unresolved issues regarding the Feast of Lanterns.

The Pacific Grove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force noted that in the past the play incorporated slanted eyes and “yellowface” makeup, the booing of the “Mandarin” and other hurtful elements. Though these have now been removed, these remain stains that have etched an indelible scar on Chinese people on the Monterey Peninsula and across the county. Continuing harm by this event is evidenced by: a) retaining of the Feast of Lanterns event name when Chinese culture has long been denigrated under that banner, b) retaining of any portion of the fictitious play that is an ill-conceived “Chinese” story, c) by Caucasian women dressing up in Chinese costumes, d) by not educating attendees about the factual history of racism against the Chinese immigrants nor promoting the significant contributions of the Chinese to the Peninsula.
Kaye Coleman, former Feast of Lanterns Princess and Queen Topaz and former President of the Feast Board, has realized that the Feast play is replete with material offensive to Chinese citizens, demonstrating gross misappropriation of Chinese culture. While her efforts brought about superficial script changes, the underlying racist issues have not been addressed. This event has persisted and resisted real changes to have cultural appreciation rather than cultural appropriations. No substantive effort has been made to educate the local public about the true history of the Chinese immigrant story; some outreach has been made to bring authentic Chinese cultural arts, music, and dance into the Feast of Lanterns. As a board member, Kaye Coleman states she has “watched Asian people come to our events and leave as soon as they saw white people in the costumes”. She further states “I believe it would be more accurate to say that not enough outreach and public education has taken place to overshadow the stain of racism and cultural appropriation in the event. That having the event in any capacity still supports the status quo of racism in PG”.
Recent articles in the Monterey Herald and Monterey County Weekly illustrate widespread dissatisfaction with the pageant. This is perhaps most eloquently expressed by Arielle Isack, a Chinese girl who grew up in Pacific Grove, in an article published on April 29, 2021: “The choice lies between continuing to distance ourselves from history by way of meaningless reform, or owning up to
the past and understanding that this festival perpetuates racism. If we learned about the Chinese fishing village in school, and how the Feast of Lanterns picked up where actual Chinese people left off, our town would be hard pressed to justify the racism it re-commits every year as a spectacle and a diversion. The absence of education about Chinese history in Pacific Grove’s consciousness creates the ideal conditions for such flagrant racism to persist.”

In addition, the extreme transmissibility of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is causing a surge of cases throughout Monterey County, impacting daily life, school attendance, testing facilities and hospital admissions. The real threat of a large event becoming a “super spreader” could add an additional negative component to the Feast of Lanterns. Currently, the California Department of Public Health has issued tighter restrictions for large events and it cannot be predicted what regulations might be in effect in the near future for indoor and outdoor events. Since the Feast of Lanterns has already been cancelled for two years, it would be an opportune time to dissolve the event as is and create a completely different and vibrant event that would not have all the serious flaws associated with the Feast of Lanterns.

Despite the offensiveness of the Feast of Lanterns, the Pacific Grove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force has proposed that the city commit to inclusivity and non-discrimination, and promote community healing. The continuation of the Feast of Lanterns would be completely inconsistent with this, and remains deeply offensive to Chinese and other Asians, dismissing their concerns about the depiction of their cultural heritage. It is time to stop this blatant demonstration of racism and acknowledge the harm that has been done. To do otherwise damages the reputation of Pacific Grove at a time when cities such as San Jose, Los Angeles and Antioch have publicly apologized for historic injustices against Chinese residents and sought ways to enhance cultural appreciation.

In contrast, the Walk of Remembrance, honoring the original Chinese immigrants who settled at Point Alones in Pacific Grove more than 170 years ago, teaches an accurate history of the Chinese in America’s Last Hometown. It was initiated by Gerry Low- Sabado, who grew up in Monterey and was a direct descendent of the original Chinese immigrants in Pacific Grove. She fought long and hard to erase the cultural appropriations of the Feast of Lanterns, and continued to do so up until her recent passing, despairing of the continuing discrimination against Chinese. The Walk of Remembrance is an example of the ethnic and historical reality which is worthy of celebration.

We the undersigned, conclude:

In light of the risks to public health and the inconsistency with the recommendations of the DEI Task Force to publicly commit to inclusivity and non-discrimination and promote community healing, we urgently request that the City Council cancel any plans for a Feast of Lanterns event. This would allow the community to host another event that would be free from controversy, be genuinely inclusive, receive across the board community support and establish Pacific Grove’s credentials as a true Home Town, creating a celebration which would draw even more visitors.

Kathy Biala, Co-Founder of The Coalition for Asian Justice
Klarity Coleman, (formerly Kaye Coleman) Activist, Feast of Lanterns President 2017-2019, Queen Topaz 1993
Carmelita Garcia, Former Mayor of Pacific Grove
Gloria Dan Yuk-siu Ipson, Co-Founder of The Coalition for Asian Justice
Michael Ipson, Co-Founder of The Coalition for Asian Justice
Lewis Leader, Co-Founder of The Coalition for Asian Justice
Randy Sabado, Co-Founder of The Coalition for Asian Justice
Angie Ngoc Tran, Co-Founder of The Coalition for Asian Justice