After reckoning with the Feast of Lanterns, Pacific Grove should start over.

Change happens in broad strokes, and it also happens in the errata sheet of the city of Pacific Grove Recreation Board meetings. It’s in that errata sheet for the board’s Jan. 31 meeting that city staff took a stand against a harmful, racist tradition that has no place in Pacific Grove.

In a discussion about an event calendar – a perfunctory thing for the Rec Board – came this addendum. “In light of ongoing community dialogue and expressed concerns… the city does not recommend the Feast of Lanterns or the five events associated with the Feast of Lanterns, including the pet parade, for fiscal year 2022/23.”

The board voted 4-0 to pass that recommendation on to City Council, which will vote on the event lineup on Feb. 16. Here’s hoping they not only deny the permit for this year, but that they have the vision to put this festival to bed for good.

The origin of the Feast of Lanterns in 1905 is deeply troubling. In the 1850s, Chinese immigrants sailed to Monterey Bay, landing at Point Lobos. They made their way to Pacific Grove, and established a village at Point Alones, next to what is today Hopkins Marine Station. At some 500 people strong, it was the largest Chinese community in the U.S. in its day.

Fishermen there were so successful they drew envy from competitors, so they would start fishing at 2pm, going for less valuable fish – squid and abalone – to avoid confrontation.

When the first Feast of Lanterns took place in 1905, participants decorated by hanging paper lanterns – a tradition that is still alive today – and, in a bit of bitter irony, at dusk lit up fishing boats with glowing charcoal baskets, similar to those the Chinese fishermen used for fishing at night.

The next year, the village burned down amid eviction proceedings. But the Feast of Lanterns went on. And on.

The event has gone through variations, but all seem designed to mock the suffering of the Chinese community. As staff writer Pam Marino and former assistant editor Kera Abraham have reported, until recently events included a play in which the villain, also a caricatured Chinese man, was named simply “the Mandarin.” Participants in the “Royal Court” would wear Chinese garb and yellowface.

While there have been efforts to adapt the Feast of Lanterns, its core – including the namesake lanterns – is based on racism and exclusion. The event cannot be disassociated from its dark history.

A long line of speakers told the P.G. Rec Board as much on Jan. 31. “Feast of Lanterns is beyond repair,” said David Kong, who is Chinese-American and grew up in Pacific Grove.

“You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, but it’s still going to stink,” said Randy Sabado.

Sabado’s late wife, Gerry Low-Sabado, was a key player in unearthing P.G.’s Chinese history. Low-Sabado’s grandfather Jeung Chin Yit was one of those middle-of-the-night fishermen. Low-Sabado was dedicated to shining a light on the history of persecution her predecessors faced – she created the educational Walk of Remembrance, from Lovers Point to the site of the old village. She advocated for changing the script of the worst of the Feast of Lanterns.

She was among the founding members of the Coalition for Asian Justice, a group that formed last year after participants met at a gathering to commemorate Asian women lost to violence. Shortly after the Coalition launched, Low-Sabado died – but the push for ending the Feast of Lanterns has only gained more energy.

“It was a lonely journey for her,” says coalition member Kathy Biala, who is Japanese-American. “Her passing galvanized the rest of the community to be much more vocal and united in advocating for real change.”

Real change means scrapping the Feast. Instead, organizers should look to create a new event that celebrates something Pagrovians should be proud of.

The coalition is circulating a petition to end the Feast of Lanterns, 305 signatures strong as of press time.

In her last public post on Facebook before she died, Low-Sabado issued a call to action: “I want you all to continue to ‘make good trouble’ and strive for ‘change with kindness.’”

There is no more fitting way to honor her legacy than to make this change – with kindness.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@mcweekly.com or follow her at twitter.com/sarahayleyrubin