In advance of May’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, two events in April will pay tribute to the AAPI communities in Lancaster County.

— “Pathways of Persistence,” an exhibit highlighting the lives and historical and contemporary contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in our region, is on display in the Stoudt Gallery at LancasterHistory.

From 3-6 p.m. Saturday, April 12, the Lancaster Asian American and Pacific Islanders group will host a free open house and reception celebrating the new exhibit.

Mabel Rosenheck, LancasterHistory’s director of education and exhibition planning, says the exhibit preserves and celebrates the contributions of the AAPI community in Lancaster County in the realms of business, culture and more, and weaves those stories “into our collective understanding of Lancaster County’s history.”

The exhibit will be on display through May 31.

LancasterHistory is at 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster. Advance registration for the April 12 event is requested, and can be made online at LancasterHistory.org or by calling 717-392-4633.

— At the end of April, The Arts at Millersville University will present a Lancaster preview event for a 2026 exhibit honoring Vietnamese refugees and their families.

“Prelude to ‘Our Journeys: 50 Years After the Fall of Saigon’” begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, at the Ware Center, 42 N. Prince St., Lancaster.

The event honors Vietnamese refugees through stories, music and photographs and provides a look ahead to the “Our Journeys” exhibit coming to the Ware next year.

Len Tran will talk about the Vietnamese Boat People organization and its public programs, including the “Our Journeys” exhibit — through which members of the Vietnamese diaspora will tell their own stories — that will be on display at the Ware for the month of February 2026.

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Tran’s journey to the United States began on a small fishing boat; he writes about his experience in his book “Split Up by the Sea: A Vietnamese refugee’s memoir of survival and hope,” copies of which will be available for signing at the April 30 event.

Also at the event, local singer Panda (Lê Thanh Trúc) will perform “Co nhung nguoi anh” (“There are Brothers”) by Võ Đức Hảo, a song evoking the emotions felt when reflecting on the homeland.

In addition, Lancaster photographer Brian “bri” Nguyen will speak about his photography exhibit, which will be on display in the Ware Center lobby during the event. The exhibit showcases many of the photos Nguyen took during his Baldwin Fellowship trip to explore his family’s home community in Vietnam.

The event is free and open to the public, and no tickets are required.

The Ware Center’s We the People First Friday event on May 2 will also focus on the AAPI community in Lancaster, with cooking demonstrations of Asian street food and an exhibit of the work of local AAPI artists.

BRIAN “BRI” NGUYEN