RE-INVIGORATE ASIAN GARDENS

JAN. 14, 2026

PRESS RELEASE

SHREVEPORT, LA

Shreveport Common announces a community meeting and call to action to launch a public/private initiative in downtown-Shreveport Common; “Re-Invigorating Asian Gardens.” The informational and planning meeting for Asian Gardens, which is located between Texas Ave, Common and Milam, will take place on Sunday, March 8 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the First Methodist Church Emmett Hook Center, 550 Common across the street from the Gardens. Free parking is available.

The afternoon event will include a salute to the mission and efforts of the founding ASEANA Foundation members, an overview of the current conditions of the Gardens, and the opportunity for the community to be a part of the plans for the refurbishing the gardens, ongoing caretaking and future programming.  

The Re-Invigorating Asian Gardens initiative grew from concerns for the aging gardens and the dissolution of the ASEANA Foundation nonprofit organization which, with City of Shreveport, improved and cared for the property for over two decades.  “We are thrilled that a group of young stakeholders who make up the Shreveport Common Think Tank chose this project for 2026,” said Wendy Benscoter, executive director of Shreveport Common. “We applied for and received a City of Shreveport Neighborhood Improvement Grant to help with basics that are in disrepair: garden beds and trees, functional and aesthetic art, lighting and informational signage. With the help of Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation (SPAR), private donations and volunteers, we plan to make the needed improvements and support community programming within the year.”

Asian Gardens is the only public Asian gardens in Louisiana. It was established in 2005 by a diverse group of immigrants from Asia (Japan, Philippines, India, Cambodia) and an African American who created the gardens from mostly concrete and overgrowth in an area known as Municipal Park Plaza. The group dedicated themselves to the gardens and to the celebrations of the Asian Cultures of members’ homelands: Philippines, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Korea, Malaysia and India. “We hope to bring our community together, especially those in our area who identify as Asian, to bring back this important space in ways that educate, inspire, celebrate our diversity and provide fun,” says Benscoter.

For more information or to sign-up for updates, go to ShreveportCommon.com/AsianGardens