Event and Exhibit on Stockton Chinatown

Beginning on Sunday, January 29, 2017, from 12-4 pm, visitors to the San Joaquin County Historical Museum in Micke Grove Park can go back in time and relive Stockton Chinatown when it was a colorful, bustling business district in the area now traversed by the Crosstown Freeway that links Highway 99 and Interstate 5. "Washington Street: The Heart and Soul of Stockton Chinatown" is a special exhibition that will chronicle "Sam Fow" (Cantonese for “third city”) from the early 1900s through redevelopment in the 1970s. It will continue at the museum through May 28, 2017. The exhibition is a collaborative effort between the museum and the Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA) of Stockton. The exhibition Opening Day on January 29 will begin at 12 noon. The museum will come alive with Chinese cultural activity stations, including a costume photo booth for cell phone pictures; local Chinese authors and cooks ready to answer your questions and sign their books; a market display of Chinese cooking ingredients; and chopstick training. Learn about Mah Jongg, Tai Chi, and the Chinese zodiac. The first 200 guests will be able to purchase a $5 Chinese plate luncheon. At 2:00 pm, the thunderous beat of the lion dance drums will beckon all visitors to the Erickson Building for the exhibit ribbon-cutting ceremony. After the opening ceremony, until museum closing at 4:00 pm, the exhibits may be viewed and tea and home-baked cookies enjoyed in the adjacent Tea Room. The exhibit is auspicious for three reasons: (1) Chinese New Year (Year of the Rooster) begins the day prior to Opening Day; (2) The last Chinese exhibit at the museum, Golden Mountain, took place in 1981, also the Year of the Rooster; (3) The exhibit coincides with the museum’s 50th anniversary year and the beginning of the Chinese Benevolent Association’s Centennial Celebration.