Alviso Events

By Grant Han The Bayside Canning Company in Alviso was once a powerhouse of California’s canning industry, the third-largest cannery in the nation under the leadership of Thomas Foon Chew. Today, only ruins remain, yet its story still carries enormous cultural and historical weight — so much so that the site has been recognized as a San José Historic Landmark. To restore this landmark to its former glory, we set out to digitally reconstruct it and post it online. On June 1, 2

In March 2025, Grant entered the My Gift to America – 2025 Asian American Stories Video Contest , hosted by the DingDing Silicon Valley Innovation Channel. The contest aimed to bring communities together through the sharing of Asian American stories. A total of 93 entries were submitted, representing voices from more than 20 ethnic groups—including Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Cambodian, Japanese, and many others—showcasing the rich diversity of the Asian Am

On March 1st, 2025, Grant attended the 145th Marysville Bok Kai Parade & Festival in Marysville, CA. 13 historic Chinatowns in Northern California shared stories of their pioneering families. Grant presented the Thomas Foon Chew family on behalf of San Francisco Chinatown. Another student, William, presented Connie Young Yu's family. The Marysville Bok Kai Parade, at 145 years old, is the oldest continuous Chinese American cultural event in the history of this country, older

On February 8, 2025, Grant received a certificate of recognition from California State to recognize his dedication to history, social engagement, and Chinese American cultural activities.

The City of San Jose officially proclaimed February 24th as Thomas Foon Chew Day . The Proclamation pays tribute to the groundbreaking achievements and lasting legacy of Thomas Foon Chew, a pioneering Chinese American entrepreneur whose contributions to the agricultural industry left an indelible mark on the Bay Area and beyond.  Grant attended the Proclamation Ceremony at San Jose City Hall and delivered a speech. City Councilmember David Cohen credited Grant with proposing

On February 16, 2025, over 140 people gathered at the South Bay Yacht Club to honor the life and legacy of Thomas Foon Chew, one of Alviso’s pioneers. The event was sponsored by the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) and CompassPoint Mentorship (CP Mentorship). Before the event, Grant gave a tour of the Bayside Canning Company and the surrounding levee. Attendees then gathered inside the South Bay Yacht Club to hear Chew’s granddaughter, Gloria Hom, share stories

On December 11, 2024, we received a Certificate of Recognition from the City of San Jose for our efforts in preserving Alviso's history through our documentary. In the words of San Jose, our interviews with local residents and historians have contributed to keeping Alviso's rich heritage alive for future generations.

Grant interviewed Gloria H om. Born in San Francisco, Gloria is a fourth-generation Californian who is also the granddaughter of Thomas FoonChew. Gloria has held many roles in her life: economist, wife, mother of three, grandmother, educator, politician, and civic leader. She’s received state and federal recognition for her work, named “Outstanding Educator of America” and trustee emeritus for California State University. She also received the Seal of California in recognitio

On December 12, 2024, Grant gave a presentation at South Bay Yacht Club Annual Board Meeting. A total of about 60 people joined this event. Grant first provided an overview of Alviso history. Then he dived into the research he conducted about Thomas Foon Chew, a Chinese immigrant who founded the Bayside Canning company. In the end, he showed the latest trailer of the documentary: https://youtu.be/flE7Cxr5Im8 The presentation was well received. Grant got a chance to talk to me

On November 24th, 2024, Grant visited the Google campus in Mountain View to attend the 2024 CP Mentorship Youth Leadership Summit. He gave a presentation about the history of Alviso and his documentary: "Alviso: an Untold Story." Grant shared his progress on the documentary and emphasized the importance of preserving history, especially in a tech-dominated environment such as Silicon Valley. His documentary explicitly highlights immigrant's role in shaping Alviso and the rest

On November 11, 2024, Grant interviewed San Jose local artist and author, Lynn Rogers, for his Thomas Foon Chew documentary project. Rogers is the author of 13 books in print, including the book "Alviso, San Jose" published in 2006. Her works have received critical acclaim from Gary Sing of Silicon Valley Metro, the Milpitas Post, the San Jose Mercury News and is the National League of American Pen Women's 2011 award winner as artist/author. The interview was conducted at Ms.

On Oct 14, 2024, Grant interviewed Richard Santos, who is a native of Alviso. He is serving as director at the Santa Clara Valley Water. Director Santos has volunteered in Alviso Community and Santa Calra County for the last 50 years. He was instrumental with the development of Alviso Library Project Fundraising Committee where he served as Chairman. He has received numerous awards for his contribution to the community. His full Biography can be found here: https://www.valley

On September 20th, 2024, Grant and Evan attended Global Asian Moon Festival and Creators Summit at Autry Museum in Los Angeles, CA. This event provided an exciting opportunity for us to learn from and network with top experts in content creation field. We listened to many insightful keynote speech including creator Economy in the AI era, the future of e-commence with TikTok Shop, and the secrets behind China's livestream shopping success. We took this opportunity to present

On June 1st, 2024, Grant attended the Dragon Boat Festival hosted by CP Mentorship group at South Bay Yacht Club. More than 50 people including Alviso residents, Yacht club members, youth from CP Mentorship group and other non-profit organizations across the Bay Area attended the event. Grant took this opportunity to interview some of the Alviso residents to prepare for the Alviso documentary project. Photo with Marcos Espinoza and Jose Villa from Alviso in Action and Catheri