NAMI Walks Silicon Valley 硅谷NAMI健行活動 10/07/23

       Bright and early on a Saturday morning, MHACC gathered at San Jose’s History Park for the 2023 NAMIWalks Silicon Valley. After the morning registration was complete, the event kicked off with the opening ceremony. As people gathered and prepared for the walk, introductions were given, doves were released, and a women’s chorus performed a few songs. Following a few more opening remarks from board members of NAMI as well as a speech from keynote speaker Paraag Marathe, President of the San Francisco 49ers, the walk officially began, and hundreds of people set out on their journey. Some took the shorter one mile walk while others embarked on the longer 5k despite the heat. Not long after the start of the walk, the Lincoln High School Mariachi band gave a fantastic performance with a whole array of instruments and some great singing.   

       Meanwhile, MHACC and the team had their booth ready with its usual decorations, flyers, and prizes. Our booth was conveniently located next to History Park’s Chinese American Historical Museum, a reconstruction of the original Ng Shing Gung (Temple of the Five Gods) that served as a community center for the Chinese American community. As people completed their walk, many passed by the booth for more information on our programs and resources and to spin the wheel for a chance to win a prize. We gave out colorful bendy sticks, CalHope pens, coloring books, and Chinese good luck charms. Luckily, as the event wrapped up, we had the opportunity to visit the Chinese American Historical Museum and learn more about its history. It was a fun day, and it was great to see everyone there!

週六清晨，MHACC 的團隊成員聚集在聖荷西歷史公園，參加 2023 年 NAMIWalks 在矽谷的活動。 上午的報名結束後，活動拉開序幕。 大家進行了​​介紹，放出了鴿子，女子合唱團表演了幾首歌曲。 在 NAMI 董事會成員致開幕詞以及舊金山 49 人隊主席帕拉格·馬拉特 (Paraag Marathe) 的演講之後，步行活動正式開始，數百人踏上了旅程。 有些人選擇了較短的一英里步行，而另一些人則不管天氣炎熱仍選擇了較長的 5 公里步行。 步行開始後不久，林肯高中流浪樂隊用各種樂器和美妙的歌聲進行了精彩的表演。

同時，MHACC 的團隊已經準備好了展位，並配備了通常的裝飾品、傳單和獎品。 我們的展位位置便利，毗鄰歷史公園的華裔美國人歷史博物館，該博物館是對原始五聖宮（五神殿）的重建，曾作為華裔美國人社區的社區中心。 當大家完成步行後，許多人經過展位來獲取有關我們的計劃和資源的更多信息，並轉動輪盤以獲得贏得獎品的機會。 我們贈送了彩色彎曲棒、CalHope 鋼筆、塗色書和中國幸運符。 幸運的是，隨著活動的結束，我們有機會參觀華裔美國人歷史博物館並了解更多關於它的歷史。 這是有趣的一天，很高興見到大家！