Kick off AAPI Month on May 2nd by attending the "Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month Storytime" featuring an outlaid reading of "I Am Golden" by Eva Chen at Columbia Cooper Library.
Experience Columbia SC ambassador and local business owner of FIT Columbia, Angela Yong, established Tour of Tea SC, a non-profit dedicated to highlighting Asian culture and securing funding sources for AAPI non-profits. Their third-annual event, Tour of Tea: Every Sip Tells a Story, will focus on the cultural significance of tea across various Asian countries and will be held on May 14, 2026 at the Columbia Museum of Art.
Celebrate local business shakers and leaders at the 6th Annual SC Asian American/Pacific Islander Business Day on May 21st in West Columbia.
Experience Columbia SC ambassador Aditi Bussels shares, “As a first-generation Indian American, one of my greatest joys is hearing the stories of people and businesses from within our Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We have often shared meanings behind our names and the stories of our parents who made the sacrifice to leave their families behind and make South Carolina their home. We have rich conversations about what it means to be Southern, growing up with two cultures. I love showcasing my heritage by sharing my traditions with friends and family here, providing a platform in the city for AAPI creatives, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and working alongside our local advocates to make our stories more visible in South Carolina. In the past several years I have been especially proud to celebrate Diwali in our capital city alongside our Governor and the South Asian community.”
Aditi’s favorites include Persis, Kao Thai and a variety of restaurants on Decker Boulevard International Corridor, as well as Hotel Trundle in the Main Street District. Owning a piece from Lexington, SC based clothing designer 831MINHLE is on her wish list.
You might find ECSC ambassador, local photographer and cuisine connoisseur Lynn Luc at MOA in the Main Street District or Bodhi Thai in Lexington for dinner. For a coffee and a pastry treat, her go-to is nibl (located inside of MOA!), and her favorite sandwich shops include Little Bee in Cayce, Paris Banh Mi Northeast Columbia and Pho Bun Mee in West Columbia.
When ECSC ambassador and boutique hotel owner Rita Patel is not running Hotel Trundle, you can find her enjoying local businesses including Duke’s Pad Thai, FIT Columbia, 929 Kitchen, 2Gingers and Bombay Palace. Rita says, “I want visitors and locals to celebrate each other’s differences and know that it’s those things that inspire us…to travel, experiment with cooking, what we wear, how we treat one another.”
Click here for more tips from Experience Columbia SC ambassadors.
