What Are The Cherry Blossoms All Over Town? INQUIRER.net
May 14, 2009
by Angela Pang
Dave San Pedro's bright and beautiful cherry blossom tree design has been chosen as the official artwork of the 5th Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration (AHSC) and will be reproduced and displayed all over San Francisco in an outdoor and viral marketing campaign.
This year's Asian Heritage Street Celebration will take place Saturday May 16th, in the Civic Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will start on Larkin Street in front of the Asian Art Museum and go up five blocks to the new Gates of Little Saigon on Larkin and Eddy Streets.
San Pedro wins the $500 grand prize and the opportunity to have his artwork prominently displayed all over San Francisco. His artwork will appear on CBS Outdoor Muni bus side and BART advertisements and Clear Channel bus shelters, plus newspaper advertisements, television commercials, the AHSC's San Francisco Unified School District Asian Pacific American Student Awards, postcards, posters, and t-shirts promoting the free event.
San Pedro's design was one of 55 entries - the most submissions ever, for the annual AHSC poster contest held in conjunction with Kearny Street Workshop.
A graphic artist, painter, photographer, and musician, San Pedro was born and raised in Bacoor, Cavite Philippines. He graduated from the University of Santo Thomas, Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Advertising. While attending, he garnered top prizes for his artwork. He later immigrated to Norfolk, Virginia and joined the U.S. Army as a musician. After serving, he joined the U.S. Postal Service in 1979 and retired in 2006. He also formed Five D's Arts, LLC, a Kamiseta screen printing, design, and photography studio. San Pedro is affiliated with several Filipino American community organizations including the Filipino American Veterans Association and the Maharlika Lions Club. His poster design inspiration came from previous AHSC posters, which incorporated a 2, 3, and 4 to signify the respective year of each event. Following the tradition, his cherry blossom branch forms a 5.
Al Perez of Creative I Studio, a member of the poster committee, chose the design because "it was simple and clever, especially with its incorporation of the five in the illustration." San Pedro says he is "excited to win" and remarks that his artwork for the event "symbolizes life's beauty and to waste no time enjoying every moment of it."
To contact San Pedro, email philippinefiesta@fivedsarts.com.
