AIISF Newsletter / June 2026
An image of Family Day 2024.
A Message From AIISF’s Executive Director
Dear AIISF Friends and Family,
Think about a time in your life when someone or some group made you feel unwelcome or made you feel that you don’t belong.
This is a question I often ask of visitors when I am leading Angel Island tours. Almost everyone can relate to this experience regardless of where we are from or how we identify. And it’s an experience that those who were detained at the immigration station likely endured from the moment they took their first steps on the island.
As we celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month as well as Pride in June, it’s important to consider how today’s immigrant communities and LGBTQ communities are feeling increasingly unwelcome and unsafe in this country. Other key dates this month include Juneteenth (6/19) and World Refugee Day (6/20). These observances and holidays provide us with the opportunity to learn about the injustices these communities have endured and are continuing to face as well as to celebrate their strengths, resilience, and contributions to our nation.
Next week is California State Parks Week (6/10-6/14). We encourage you to check out all the different programs that are taking place at Angel Island State Park and other state parks across California.
We are excited to be partnering with Angel Island State Park, Angel Island Tiburon Ferry, Golden Gate Ferry, ExploreUS, and West Coast Events Group for this year’s Family Day on June 13. Note that tickets for Family Day are sold out. For those of you who were able to reserve tickets, you’ll be receiving additional information next week.
Some of you have reached out inquiring about the inclusion of Angel Island Immigration Station on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s (NTHP) 2026 Most Endangered Historic Places list for a second time. Our inclusion on the 2026 list is not an indication of failure. Instead, it is a recognition of the ongoing challenges to preserving buildings that are now over 118 years old, the societal conditions that continue to relegate Angel Island’s history to the sidelines, and the lack of broader national visibility, visitation, and resources compared to what other historic islands receive. It’s a validation that our work to preserve this site and uplift its histories is important and meaningful not just in the Bay Area but also at a national level.
Finally, as you are making plans for July 4th, consider a visit to Angel Island. Angel Island State Park, AIISF, and our Angel Island partners are planning daytime activities across the island as well as a special-ticket, nighttime fireworks experience.
I started this message with a question, and I’ll end with two: 1) Who are 5 people in your family or friend group who might not know about Angel Island and how can you help raise their awareness? 2) Drawing from your own personal experiences, how can you help make a recent immigrant in your family or friend group feel more welcome?
Thank you for your continued partnership and support!
Edward Tepporn
Executive Director
Golden Gate Ferry Notice
From 6/22-6/25, Golden Gate Ferry will not be operating service from San Francisco to Angel Island due to dock repairs. For travel to Angel Island during this time, please see Angel Island Tiburon Ferry schedules. Thank you for your patience.
Family Day 2026 | SOLD OUT | Volunteers Needed!
Family Day 2026 | SOLD OUT | Volunteers Needed
June 13 | 10 am-5 pm
Angel Island Immigration Station
Family Day 2026 tickets are SOLD OUT! We'll be sending logistical information to attendees early next week. We're looking forward to Family Day being a packed event! If you didn't purchase a ticket, we recommend not visiting the island that day.
We are still looking for volunteers to assist with CHECK-IN:
Tiburon Check-in: 3 volunteers needed
San Francisco Check-in: 4 volunteers needed
We would love to have your help! Please note: there will be NO Family Day tickets, ferry rides, or meals provided for CHECK-IN volunteers. We will, however, provide snacks for you!
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
Del Sol Quartet on Angel Island: Wayfinding - 50 years of HŌkūleʻa
July 11 | 12-1 pm
Angel Island Immigration Station
Click here to RSVP
Stop by the Detention Barracks Museum for live music by the Del Sol Quartet! Connecting the immigration histories of Angel Island and Hawaiʻi, the Del Sol Quartet will give the world premiere of Moananuiākea by composer Leilehua Lanzilotti.
Lanzilotti's Moananuiākea celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Hōkūleʻa’s first voyage to Tahiti. Del Sol Quartet will be joined by Miki Tomita Okamoto from the educational organization "Wayfinder."
The noon performance is included in your $5 admission to the Detention Barracks Museum. RSVP on our website!
Second Saturdays on Angel Island: Hands on History
July 11 | 12-3:30 pm
Angel Island Immigration Station
Click here to learn more
After the Del Sol Quartet's performance, stop by the Angel Island Immigration Museum to make kites!
During the activity, learn about Tyrus Wong's immigration story.
Gateways in Dialogue: Through Young Eyes
July 23 | 5-6 pm PDT
On Zoom
Click here to register
Join us on Zoom, on July 23rd, our ongoing collaborative series with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. What was it like for children to immigrate to the United States? Was the process different for them compared to adults?
This will be a 1-hour presentation followed by an audience Q+A.
Registration is required! Sign up online.
Gateways in Dialogue: From Newcomers to National Treasures
July 30 | 5-6 pm PDT
On Zoom
Click here to register
We're having two Gateways in Dialogue this month!
Tune in to for a 1-hour presentation, followed by a Q+A, on immigrants' lives after leaving Angel Island and Ellis Island. Where did they go? What did they do? Would you know one of them?
Registration is required! Sign up online.
Angel Island Partner Events
Guard House & Chapel OPEN! | Fort McDowell
June 6-7 | 11 am-3pm
Angel Island State Park, Fort McDowell
Click here to learn more
Join volunteer docents, dressed in period attire, to learn about military history on Angel Island. Fort McDowell is a 2-mile hike away from the docks and includes a paved trail and 144 steps of trail stairs.
Normally closed to the public, the Guard House and Chapel will be open for visitors!
State Parks Week
June 10, 12, 13 & 14
Angel Island State Park
Come out to Angel Island to participate in California State Parks Week! This is an annual celebration of the diversity of California’s State Park System and the people who visit and help protect these iconic places. Activities at Angel Island State Park include:
Bike in the Bay (6/10): Capped at 50 participants.
Pride Birding (6/12): Capped at 30 participants.
Family Day (6/13): SOLD OUT! AT CAPACITY!
Yoga in the Park (6/14): Register here!
4th of July at Angel Island State Park
July 3-5
Angel Island State Park
Click here to learn more
Celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the United States! Angel Island State Park is hosting special activities throughout the long weekend: enjoy music and food, experience living history, and meet descendants with personal connections to the island’s history!
Activities will be at various locations along a paved 5-mile road. Visitors can bike or hike to each of the locations, and by a paid shuttle service to the US Immigration Station. On 4th of July proper, there will be paid shuttle service to all locations!
Additionally, on July 4, there'll be a special fireworks viewing on the island! This is a paid, ticketed event.
Community Events
Japanese American National Museum | Film Screening: "Loyal American" With Haruka Sakaguchi
June 6 | 2-3:30 pm
Japanese American National Museum Democracy Center, Los Angeles
Click here to learn more
Join JANM for a screening of the short film, Loyal American, directed by photographer and National Geographic Explorer Haruka Sakaguchi.
Henry Kaku, a descendant of America’s concentration camps, embarks on a pilgrimage to the former camp where his father, Keige, was imprisoned during World War II. Throughout his journey, he reflects on the moral and existential dilemmas his father faced and contemplates the question: What does it mean to be a “loyal” American?
Following the screening, Sakaguchi will be in conversation with Kaku as they explore ideas of loyalty and identity.
Tickets for the screening are $5 for General audiences and free for JANM Members.
Safar (Journey) for the United States of Asian America Festival
June 14 | 3:30-5:30 pm (Doors open at 3:00 pm)
Creativity Museum Theater, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
Click here for tickets
AIISF friends and family can use this 50% Discount Code: FRIENDS50
Come see Safar (Journey), an official selection of the United States of Asian America Festival. The poetic short documentary that illuminates the largely forgotten history of South Asians at Angel Island Immigration Station, tracing stories of early migration, arrival, and belonging.
The film follows Oakland-based choreographer Joti Singh as she traces the life of her great-grandfather, Bhagwan Singh Gyanee—a poet, organizer, and possible detainee at Angel Island. Filmed on location, Joti performs as Gyanee, blending re-enactment with site-specific movement to illuminate histories of migration, colonial oppression, and racial exclusion through a deeply personal diasporic lens.
2026 Queer Asian World Cinema Satellite Screening
July 4 | 2-3:30 pm
41 Ross Alley, San Francisco
Click here to learn more
Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco is proud to welcome Queer Asian World Cinema back for a second year in partnership with Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP), presenting a special satellite screening at CCC.
This FREE, 90-minute program features four short films from QWOCMAP’s Queer Asian World Cinema series, centering queer, trans, and nonbinary Asian and diasporic stories. Through memories of nightlife, friendship, self-discovery, and community organizing, the films reflect the many ways LGBTQIA+ communities create space for one another, honor collective histories, and imagine freer futures.
Masks are required for this event, there will be free masks available onsite. The venue, 41 Ross Alley, San Francisco Chinatown, is ADA accessible.
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.