The streets of downtown and Old Sacramento were filled to the brim for the 19th Annual Pacific Rim Street Fest Sunday. According to Event chair Merlayna Yee-Chin, thanks to the beautiful weather, she was expecting to reach participant numbers of at least 40,000. Yee-Chin has been involved with the event since the very beginning, which started 19 years ago as Frank Fat’s dream for people in the community to understand the large and growing Asian population in Sacramento. “When we first started, people didn’t know or even really understand what it was, but that has changed over time,” Yee-Chin said. “This is an event that now takes about nine to 10 months to plan.” This year’s spice-theme

If you need a dose of cultural festivities this weekend, the Pacific Rim Street Festival is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in Old Sacramento and Downtown Westfield Plaza. This year’s theme is ‘Hats and Headdresses.’ The festival is held annually in collaboration with the Asian Pacific Rim Foundation to "honor and celebrate" the diversity of Sacramento's Asian Pacific community since it was first presented by Sacramento’s restaurateur Frank Fat and community groups in 1993. The festival’s chairwoman, Merlayna Yee, said the festival highlights Asian Pacific culture and food, and added, “The more you get exposed to it, the more you understand it.” At least 300 volunteers help to c