PORTLAND, Oregon — On Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Jade Dance Team, a traditional Chinese dance group, put on quite a performance.
"I just love the energy and spirit and how it brings the Chinese community together and I also get to meet new people and share my heritage with others," Claire Cao said. "It's great."
Echoing that sentiment was a member of the Portland Chinese Yo-Yo Team that also shined at the 2023 Chinese Festival.
"It was a first time experience," Callie Chu said. "Our second performance so far. It is our first big performance with a big live audience so that was a big one for us."
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The festival came just one day after somebody vandalized the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Old Town. It appears somebody broke a piece of granite off the Chinatown Gate on 4th and Burnside and then hurled it through the window of the garden's tea house. Police are investigating what the garden's executive director is confident is a bias crime.
"I know the news makes us a little bit nervous," a festival organizer said.
The woman said as recently as Saturday morning canceling the event was under consideration, but organizers decided against it.
"We have the security team and we have the police come to support us so I think we're pretty safe," she said.
Safety should be a top priority. A report from the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, released just last month, indicated that the state's Bias Response Hotline has seen a 178% increase in calls since 2020. In other words, bias crimes are on the rise. It is not lost on the Chinese community.
"If someone thinks we're not welcome we don't care about it because we just show our love and know most of the people are supporting us," the woman said.
For proof look no further than the large crowd at the 2023 Chinese Festival. The crowd was as big and loud as it was, organizers say, to show support for the Chinese community in the wake of the vandalism. That sort of electricity has performers excited to return next year.
"We plan to come back every year," Cao said.