About Asian American Expo
Learn more about our mission and how we grow yearly
History
The Asian American Expo first opened its doors in 1987 at the Pasadena Convention Center. At the time it was called the Chinese American Expo, with 60 exhibitors and the goal of bringing together businesses and consumers. Since then the show is held annually in conjunction with the Lunar New Year Festival. Having gone through a long history filled with enormous challenge and hard work, the Asian American Expo has made a name for itself as the premiere Asian trade show market across America.To all exhibitors and visitors, the Asian American Expo features two important significant factors of high influence. First, from the economic point of view, the rapidly expanding Asian population in Southern California is considered one of the most profitable markets to be explored and tapped into. The enormous success of the Expo not only reflects the rapid growth of the Asian influence in Southern California but also the mainstream connection and soaring growth of the Pacific Rim economy.
Second, through a multi-faceted program of live stage performances and traditional folk art demonstrations, the Expo shares a living heritage among people of all different backgrounds. It includes the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Thai, Indonesian, Burmese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, and Singaporean. Besides preserving a link of Asian heritage among the younger generations, it creates a critical bond between the entrepreneur spirit and culture heritage forming a perfect match!
In 1992, the Asian American Expo moved from the Pasadena Convention Center to the Pomona Fairplex to accommodate the rapid growth and expansion of the show. Starting with a single exposition hall, it was only a matter of time before the show would need additional halls to host more exhibitors and visitors. Today the Asian American Expo includes 5 large exposition halls, Buildings 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. Every available space outdoors between the buildings has also been set up with exhibitor booths. The expo hosts more than 800 exhibitors annually and welcomes more than 100,000 attendees to the show.
