Thousands gathered in Edgemont Memorial Park on May 17, 2025 for AAPI New Jersey’s fifth annual Lantern Festival for Justice and Unity, a powerful event that has grown from a response to anti-Asian hate into a vibrant celebration of community solidarity and belonging.
Pathways lined with glowing lanterns guided attendees to family-friendly crafts, inspiring musical performances, and thoughtful art installations honoring the state’s 1+ million Asian Americans during AAPI Heritage Month.
The event originated in 2021 as a way to build solidarity against rising anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it has grown into one of the organization’s hallmark events, bringing together residents from across the state to engage with more than 30 participating local nonprofits and inviting them to join the ongoing fight for social justice.
“As we again see attacks on education that teaches all of our stories, the cruel persecution of our immigrant communities, and other attempts to undermine our rights and the rule of law, it means the world to us that so many of you have come out tonight to gather with us. This is our community, this is our light, and it is in our power to make the future that we want to see for our kids,” said AAPI New Jersey Co-Executive Director Amber Reed at the festival.
Lanterns were placed throughout the park in honor of all those who have helped light the way forward for the AAPI community, embodying their collective dreams for a more just future. People could also dedicate lanterns to loved ones, which were displayed in a poignant tunnel where attendees could read heartfelt notes of gratitude.
Families set up picnic blankets and chairs on the grass while music acts from the Vanguard Theater, Montclair High School student Kerala Kim, and the Pride Choir performed a range of songs from the musical Hair, “You Will Be Found” by Dear Evan Hanson, and more.
Beyond vibrant music and family fun, the festival provided a powerful platform for sharing stories and advocating for change. AAPI New Jersey invited guest speaker Elizabeth Kari, a New York-based fashion designer and founder of AAP(I belong), to share her story about creating a space for healing in the face of collective trauma.
Kari recounted how a stranger attacked her mother in 2021, who was on her way to church in New York City. The lack of bystander intervention pained Kari, who would eventually receive an outpouring of support through countless messages from other people with similar experiences.
What she “learned from our community is that we need support but that change starts from within,” she told the festival crowd. Kari then created AAP(I belong), an online platform that provides individuals with an opportunity to anonymously share their experiences with anti-Asian discrimination.
“I wanted to offer an anonymous place where someone could have a sense of catharsis, a place to purge those stories that they never wanted to really say out loud, and on the flip side, have the readers of these stories really realize that they’re not alone, that they could find familiarity within these,” Kari said.
Those themes carried throughout the festival, where community members could share stories of when they were “upstanders”—individuals who choose to act in the face of injustice—to inspire others to take action. Their hand-written notes were then hung and displayed for everyone to see.
Other activities and interactive displays across the park aimed to foster community and belonging. Children could construct their own lanterns, practice civic engagement through a mock election, and take part in collective art projects. Interdisciplinary artist Chanika Svetvilas invited attendees to write “prescriptions of care,” as a way to encourage reflection on self-care and community well-being.
AAPI New Jersey showcased “We Belong Here: Roots & Routes”—a state map highlighting notable people and places in Asian American history across New Jersey—as well as large-scale history walls highlighting significant moments and AAPI figures in U.S. history.
Another exhibit shed light on the Alien Enemies Act, a law used to justify the incarceration of Japanese families during WWII, and its continued use to carry out mass deportations today. People were invited to share their reactions to the exhibit on Post-It notes.
“Human beings are not aliens. Spread love,” one note read.
The collective spirit evident in these simple notes underscored the festival’s enduring message: unity, advocacy, and the power of a community lighting the way forward for a more inclusive tomorrow.
