AIISF Newsletter / August 2026
Detention Barracks Museum at Angel Island State Park, 2026.
A Message From AIISF’s Executive Director
Dear AIISF Friends and Family,
I hope that all of you are finding some time this summer for some RR&R: rest, relaxation, and resiliency.
March through June is probably one of the busiest times of year for AIISF’. While July was intended to be a bit of a slower month for us to catch up on projects, it was still a busy month for our team.
We started off July as part of a monumental team effort alongside Angel Island State Park, Angel Island Company, Angel Island Conservancy, Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry, and the Golden Gate Ferry to host over 1,000 people across the island for America250 festivities during the July 4th weekend.
We offered an activity table at Lincoln Summer Nights, where participants could make poetry rubbings or create their own button-pins. Congratulations to our friends at Lincoln Square Park on the groundbreaking of the new Lincoln Square Recreation Center, slated for completion in Summer 2028.
We held two virtual Gateways in Dialogue programs with our colleagues at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. We’ll be posting the recordings to our YouTube channel soon!
We are also working on some exciting enhancements to the site's exhibits. This includes the addition of new permanent exhibit panels in English, Chinese, and Spanish. We’ve partnered with a consultant to poetically translate several of the poems in the Detention Barracks into Spanish. Additionally, we are anticipating the launch of our revised virtual tour (in partnership with Angel Island State Park and CyArk) at the end of this month!
There are two important areas where we need your voice:
First, as we previously shared in last month’s newsletter, the administration has announced that they will be shutting down the National Archives facility in San Bruno. The process of transferring artifacts and files could begin as soon as September 2026. So, if you haven’t done so already, we need your help to support the Save Our National Archives (SONA) effort! Please write a letter to support keeping the San Bruno facility open and/or sign SONA's Change.org petition.
Second, the Administration has also proposed sweeping changes to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. According to Brent Leggs (President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation), “The ACHP’s proposed changes to Section 106 will eviscerate the preservation of our shared civic and cultural heritage in the United States.” In the coming weeks, there will be a public comment period, and we hope that you’ll consider adding your voice to the effort to push back against these proposed changes. In the meantime, learn more at https://savingplaces.org/section106.
As always, thank you for your support and engagement. We hope to see you out on Angel Island again soon (perhaps on August 8 for the performance by The Waverly Players - part of our Second Saturdays event series)!
Edward Tepporn
AIISF Executive Director
Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign
Through our Pathways to Immigration Special Campaign, you can have your family or company name engraved onsite at the Angel Island Immigration Station! Commemorate your own immigration journey, honor your family’s immigrant heritage, or show your allyship with immigrant communities.
Whether you or your family came through Angel Island or elsewhere, and whether you arrived in the US decades or days ago, we welcome your name and support!
Upcoming Events
The Waverly Players on Angel Island
ugust 8 | 12 & 1 pm
Angel Island Immigration Station
No RSVP needed
Join us for a day of history, jazz, and poetry at the Detention Barracks Museum.
The Waverly Players combine poetry readings and live jazz music to illustrate a cross-cultural exchange between Chinese and American art forms, highlighting the past and present experiences of immigrants in the United States.
The performances are included in your $5 admission to the Detention Barracks Museum.
Second Saturdays on Angel Island: Hands on History
August 8 | 12-3:30 pm
Angel Island Immigration Station
Click here to learn more
After the Waverly Players' performance, stop by the Angel Island Immigration Museum for some family friendly activities!
This month we'll be learning Chinese calligraphy. Learn some basic phrases and see how immigrants wrote their poetry on the barracks walls.
Lincoln Summer Nights
August 13 | 5-8 pm PDT
Lincoln Square Park
261 11th St. Oakland
Come out to Lincoln Summer Nights, June 13th for more fun and community building!
We’ll be doing a variety of activities related to the islands history and the stories of the people who came through the immigration station. There will be performances and a wide variety of other community organizations coming as well so don’t miss out!
Lincoln Summer Nights happens every second Thursday from 5pm-8pm until October 8.
Del Sol Quartet on Angel Island: Foreigners to the Familiar — Exploring the Filipino Experience
September 12 | 12-1 pm PDT
Angel Island Immigration Station
Click here to register
What’s it like to shine day-glo bright as a poison frog, your colors a warning to potential predators? Dante de Silva’s “Aposematic” recreates the pressure of difference and the struggle to maintain individuality.
Josiah Catalan’s “Foreigners to the Familiar” interweaves slam poetry by Irene Faye Duller, Brandon Gagante and Mei Chung.
Join us for two world premieres as we bring California community voices to life within the historic detention barracks of Angel Island Immigration Station!
Dante de Silva: Aposematic (2026) WORLD PREMIERE
Josiah Catalan: Foreigners to the Familiar (2026) WORLD PREMIERE
The performance is included in your $5 admission to the Detention Barracks Museum.
"Images of America: Chinese in Tehama County" (Online)
August 8 | 10 am-12 pm PDT
Chinese Family History Group (CFHG)
Click here to register
Author Jessica Chew will share insights from her research into her family history, uncovering historical records, newspaper archives, family photographs and recording oral history interviews. She will describe how forgotten family stories were pieced together to illustrate the history of Red Bluff’s Chinatown.
Her presentation will demonstrate how genealogy research can help bring forgotten communities back to life, preserve stories before they are lost, and reconnect families with a shared heritage spanning more than 150 years.
AIISF is a small (but mighty) nonprofit that has worked tirelessly for the past 42 years to preserve the buildings at Angel Island and to elevate the stories of immigrants. Our ability to continue these preservation efforts and to continue to offer free or low-cost programs is dependent on the support of community members like you. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to AIISF.