AAPI Heritage Month at Orchestra: food, music and connection
Each May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month gives us an opportunity to celebrate the cultures, histories and contributions of AAPI people across the country and within our own Orchestra community.
This year’s national theme, “Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together,” felt especially resonant for our AAPI employee resource group. As we started planning, we thought a lot about how to bring that idea to life at work, creating moments for colleagues to learn about one another and honor the many cultures within the AAPI umbrella.
That intention shaped the month’s programming, from food crawls to a virtual cooking workshop to a Friday afternoon DJ set. Though we knew our programming could never represent the full spectrum of AAPI experiences, the goal was to create meaningful entry points that felt welcoming and rooted in connection.
A natural starting point: food
Food felt like a natural place to begin, as one of the most tangible (and delicious) ways people share culture. Across our offices, we organized food crawls spotlighting AAPI flavors, giving colleagues a chance to try local spots.
We also invited Mexican and Chamorro chef Ceana Cooks to lead teams through a virtual workshop on making Spam musubi, a beloved Hawaiian snack of Spam and rice wrapped in seaweed. During the workshop, Ceana invited us to think about how recipes evolve. She shared ways to riff on familiar dishes while still honoring the comfort and memory behind them.
Were our Spam musubi creations as perfectly Instagrammable as Ceana’s? Maybe not. But they were definitely tasty. More importantly, the workshop and food crawls gave us a jumping-off point for conversation, creativity and cultural exchange.
Creating connection through music
Music was another way we wanted to bring people together. Our virtual DJ set brought two AAPI DJs into the workday for a Friday afternoon experience that colleagues could share, whether they were working remotely or gathering with teammates in the office.
One of the DJs, NEAK, is the founder of MOOD Radio and is known for curating high-energy Hip Hop and R&B experiences rooted in community and culture. His work spans intimate venues, rooftop day parties and events like Seafood City’s Late Night Madness in San Diego, a Filipino street food and dance party that originated in the Bay Area.
The other featured artist, Nino, is a DJ and music curator who brings a deep passion for how music connects people. Known for blending feel-good sounds across genres, his sets are crafted as immersive journeys that invite listeners to dance, connect and fully express themselves.
The DJ set was designed to feel celebratory and communal. It gave people a chance to discover AAPI artists, learn more about the creative communities shaping local culture and bring music into the flow of the workday. You can view the recorded Q&A and live set here.
Carrying the spirit forward
What we hope colleagues take away from AAPI Heritage Month is simple: learn more about each other.
At Orchestra, everyone brings their own background and lived experience to the work we do together. Like all of our ERGs, the AAPI ERG creates space for connection and representation across the company, giving us a place to celebrate culture, share our stories and support one another. (One especially fun discovery from the month: our Head of Paid Media, Biana Garcia, has an amazing and extensive food blog. All restaurant recommendation requests will now be directed her way; her Slack DMs may never recover.)
And that’s exactly what this month was about: making space to share what we know, what we love and where we come from. We hope the energy of AAPI Heritage Month continues beyond May, with more connection and more opportunities to celebrate the communities that make Orchestra who we are.
