.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Two months ago, Anadi Bajoria moved to Iowa on a temporary visa to establish a Clive-based U.S. operations center for his company, which exports granite and marble from India.

One of the first things he did upon his arrival was to contact the Iowa Asian Alliance.

“The president of the company is very good friends with Kim (Poam Logan, the IAA’s executive director),” said Bajoria, operations manager for Alliance Minerals – North America LLC. Very quickly, Logan recruited him to serve on the public relations committee for the group’s largest event – the fifth annual Asian Heritage Festival to be held at Water Works Park on May 12.

Bajoria’s involvement with the annual festival is a good example of the increasing value it brings to not only Greater Des Moines but to Iowa, Logan said.

Founded by the Iowa Asian Alliance, the Asian Heritage Festival is expected to draw up to 35,000 participants this year, making the relatively new event one of the premier cultural celebrations in the state. But underlying the music, games, workshops, crafts and native foods are the economic development and tourism opportunities it creates.

“I think (Central Iowa businesses) share three basic goals,” Logan said. “They want to create a more diverse workforce, they want to tap into these market niches and they want to make Iowa a more globally diverse community. I think events like this do all of those things. On this one day, we’re bringing all of these (Asian) communities together in one place.”

Bajoria said he expects his involvement with the festival and the Asian Alliance will provide valuable networking opportunities.

“I can meet a lot of people and it gives me a broad perspective of how things work in the United States,” he said. “I see a lot of learning steps with this particular organization.”

Last year, a job fair component was added to the festival, Logan said, and “this year we’re starting to see companies from all over the state participating, because there are no other vehicles like this for reaching the Asian market.”

In addition to using the festival to seek new employees, Nationwide/Allied Insurance is among several Des Moines companies that plan to hold pre-event meetings to encourage their workers to participate in the festival, said Brando Guerrero. A community outreach specialist for Nationwide, Guerrero also assists the IAA with the festival as president of Alianza, the Hispanic Business Association.

Guerrero said the amount of money from event sponsorships has increased by about 30 percent each year, with the top sponsors now paying $20,000. This year, the event has 21 sponsors that are contributing from $5,000 to $20,000.

Several Asian-related organizations and events have coordinated their events with the festival to tap into its popularity, Logan said. Among those is a May 10 performance of the Hung Sheng Lion Dance Theater of Taiwan at Hoyt Sherman Place, co-sponsored by Iowa Sister States.

On May 11, Grand View College will host the Central Iowa Asian Pacific American Student Leadership Summit, a forum addressing issues facing Asian Pacific American students. The keynote speaker at the summit will be Touger Xiong, a Hmong comedian, storyteller, rap artist, activist and motivational speaker.

“One of the main focuses of the (summit) is to expose these students to professionals who look like them, who are from the same background, to share their experiences so these kids can get an idea of what they faced, how they overcame adversity,” said Liajdub Vang, an Employee & Family Resources staff member who is coordinating the event.

Each student will be encouraged to attend the festival, Vang said. “We wanted these kids to understand that something like the Asian Heritage Festival doesn’t happen overnight, that it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, a lot of time and money from people. We want the kids to volunteer at the festival if they can, and put time and effort into their own communities as well.”

It’s likely the festival will expand to Eastern Iowa through the efforts of an IAA chapter that formed there last year. Business and community leaders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Davenport have all expressed interest in developing an Asian festival, Logan said.

Members from that chapter will “be here actively participating so they can get familiar with how to run the festival,” she said.