The Haggard Park parking lot is situated between the park and the Downtown Plano DART station. As it provides the most favorable parking spaces, and the spaces in it are limited, we need to keep the parking lot for restricted personnel only.
Duties
- Controlling access to the parking lot
- Work with the police officer stationed on duty
- Ensuring there are enough spaces for the performers' loading zone
- Allowing vehicles to exit by temporarily moving the traffic cones
- Allowing authorized vehicles to enter by temporarily moving the traffic cones
- Audit the parking lot for any vehicles without permits, and take photos of those license plates and VINs down to add to our blacklist in the future
Parking management process
Per the policies below, control access and parking.
Controlling access
You will work with a Plano police officer. They are the only ones who can enter the street to direct traffic. They will let you verify whether the car should be let in or not.
Depending on the criteria below in #Who can enter, you can let the car in or not.
Procedure:
- All civilian cars with Texas license plates must have a front license plate and blue registration sticker. (Oklahoma plates do not need a front plate.) NO OTHER STATE'S LICENSE PLATES ARE AUTHORIZED TO ENTER. If these criteria aren't satisfied, deny entry
- All cars (except City of Plano and disabled passenger vehicles) must have a printed permit. Showing it on a mobile phone doesn't suffice. If no printed permit, deny entry
- If the permit's license plate matches the front plate, allow entry. (Exception: organizer permits aren't associated with any license plates. They should be allowed in without QR codes on their permits.)
The theme of 2025 parking enforcement is: strict entry requirements but relaxed verification procedure.
All parking enforcement ends at 2:00pm.
Controlling parking
Your responsibilities are to check any incoming cars for their permits and to periodically audit cars in the parking lot for permits.
Between 9am and 11am, set aside the closest parking spaces for unloading for vendors and performers.
After 11am, only performer loading permits can load/unload.
If it's a loading permit (for vendors and performers), please let them know to keep their hazards on (i.e. flashing emergency blinker lights) at all times. The driver can't leave the vehicle.
Occasionally, when you have time, walk around and check if all parked vehicles have permits on their dashboards. If you notice any noncompliant cars, take photos of their license plates and send it to the parking coordinator for blacklisting.
If you see any vendors or performers violating the terms of their loading permit, you can take photos of the cars' license plates and send them to the parking coordinator for blacklisting.
All parking enforcement ends at 2:00pm.
Who can enter
| Type of permit | Can park? | Can load/unload? |
|---|---|---|
| Performers | No | Yes, after 10am |
| Vendors | No | Yes, until 11am |
| Sponsors | Yes | Yes |
| Accessible | Yes, accessible spots only | Yes |
| Miscellaneous | Yes | Yes |
| Plano AsiaFest staff
CAAHF board members |
Yes | Yes |
| City of Plano staff, City Councilmembers, and the Mayor of Plano | Yes | Yes |
| Plano Police and Plano Fire Rescue | Yes | Yes |
We cannot post the decal here because this is a public website. We'll show it to you on the day of the festival.
To verify the permit, scan either of the QR codes on it (they are the same) and verify that it goes to the permit checking website. It should say "Valid" in green text with the license plate number and the type of permit that was issued. If it says "Invalid" in red text, deny entry.
The people who are authorized to park in the parking lot have to have AsiaFest permits. There are seven categories of permits: performer, vendor, sponsor, organizer, accessible, miscellaneous, and City of Plano permits. They are supposed to have printed out the permits in color and show it on their dash. If they are not printed out, then deny entry.
Only two categories do not need permits: (1) City of Plano government officials and employees, and (2) cars with accessible parking plates/hangtags.
CAAHF board members should call the volunteer coordinator if they forgot their permit and are turned away, so they can be let in on an extraordinary basis.
Anyone else who does not have a permit must be turned away. We had our grace period in 2024. In 2025 we have a zero-tolerance policy.
The police officer should be informed: as long as the permit has four QR codes on the bottom left and right corners (which are the same) and inside the permit itself, and contains their license plate number printed on it, they can proceed into the parking lot. If they cannot present a permit within 10 seconds, tell them to keep traffic flowing and circle around and come back.
The volunteer will handle where they can go into the lot and how long they can stay there.
New in 2025: due to zero forgeries in 2024, we will enforce spot checks rather than scan each vehicle. You do not need to scan the QR code unless the vehicle enters the lot.
The cars have been directed to only left turn into the parking lot by going eastbound on 15th Street, and have been expressly forbidden to come westbound on 15th Street, due to safety concerns arising from holding up traffic on the DART railroad tracks. Any cars trying to right turn into the parking lot should be rejected by the police officer, for safety purposes, even if they have a valid permit.
Performers
We do not have enough parking spaces for all performers to park there all day, so we can only provide a few spaces for immediate loading/unloading. We will accept only one form of proof: a performer loading/unloading permit.
The cars must have their hazard lights flashing at all times while stationary.
Inform the driver that they should not leave the car. If they need to help load/unload, tell them they need to come back within 10 minutes. If they park or otherwise leave the car, please take a photo of their license plate so we can add it to our blacklist.
Vendors
Vendors with a loading permit can come in the morning to unload between 9am and 11am. In the afternoon, they are free to park and load after the conclusion of parking enforcement at 2pm.
Vendors can leave their car temporarily as long as their hazards are on. The cars must have their hazard lights flashing at all times while stationary.
Any vendors with a loading permit (and not a parking permit) who park in a spot after 11am will be blacklisted. In this case, please take a photo of their license plate so we can add it to our blacklist.
Sponsors
Sponsors who have parking decals are allowed to park at the parking lot. This is because they most likely have a lot of things to bring into the park to set up their booth. They do not have any time restrictions, but please ask them to not park in the reserved load/unload spots for performers.
Accessible
Any license plate with the International Symbol of Access (ISA) or with a disability hangtag issued by a state government should be allowed to park throughout the day at the accessible spots. A permit is not required. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Symbol_of_Access
Plano AsiaFest staff and CAAHF board members
If they claim to be a Plano AsiaFest staff or CAAHF board member, please have them show their organizer permit. If the CAAHF board member forgot their badge, please have them show their photo ID and look up whether their name appears on asianamericanheritage.org/about.asp. Family members of Plano AsiaFest staff and CAAHF board members can also be admitted; in some cases, this could be their ride home! In case of doubt, please call the volunteer coordinator and they will adjudicate whether they can enter or not.
Please note that volunteers are not considered AsiaFest staff.
City of Plano staff
If they are in a City of Plano car, let them in.
If they show you their City of Plano badge, let them in.
If they are the Mayor of Plano, a city councilmember, or their family or associated personnel, let them in.
Plano Police and Plano Fire Rescue
If a fire truck or ambulance arrives on site, remove the cones immediately and let them in.
If a marked Plano police car shows up, let them in. If they are unmarked and claim to be police, either ask for a uniformed police officer on-site to verify or ask to see their badge. For other cities, they don't have jurisdiction in Plano, so most likely they are just visiting from another city off-duty, and they won't be allowed to park.
Who cannot enter
| Direct them to park at | |
|---|---|
| Volunteers | Load/unload at the Cox Playhouse/Courtyard Theater parking lot or the Municipal Court parking lot
|
| Food vendors | Avenue H |
| General public (attendees) | Park at any other city lot for free |
Please be courteous when directing others to a new place to park! As you know, parking at a festival is very stressful, so they will understandably be disappointed at being unable to park at the best spot. Please be empathetic to their situation but explain to them that the parking is reserved for performers, event staff, and the City of Plano staff, in order to facilitate the smooth functioning of the festival. Please provide them with the list of free parking spots (tell them to visit info.planoasiafest.org/wiki/Attendees) so they have some choices to select.
People who cannot park/load and unload, even though they purport to have some sort of connection to the festival:
- Relatives and friends of performers. Unless they are performing, they cannot unload in the park.
- Friends of sponsors. Only sponsors with a parking decal can enter the lot to park. Unless they have a parking permit, they cannot park.
Handling tough situations
There are gray areas when telling people that they cannot park here. As of 2025, we have pre-screened most "gray areas", so the tough situations will have less wiggle room. Please see the following examples of what to do in tough cases:
- A car with a disabled driver/passenger needs to park near the park. If the car has the International Symbol of Access (ISA) on their license plate (i.e. the wheelchair person) or they have a disability hangtag, allow them to enter.
- A performer comes solo and has heavy instruments or a performer comes with no adults and their kids. These cases should have already been handled before the day of the festival, and any such situations should have already had their permits issued ahead of time. Because of other requirements (such as our front license plate check, blacklist check, etc.) If they didn't apply for a permit, tough luck.
- A family comes with kids and cannot find parking anywhere else. As of 2025, there is no day-of flexibility. All such cases should be turned away if they don't have permits. Please provide them with the list of free parking spots (tell them to visit info.planoasiafest.org/wiki/Attendees) so they have some choices to select.
- Someone insists they are eligible to park. In this case, please contact the parking coordinator so they may clarify the situation. We may let them load/unload but most likely they will not be eligible to park.
- Philip Ng: He will come with a trailer. He is eligible to park.
- Vendors: Not eligible to park unless they are also a sponsor who has been granted a parking pass.
If you are unsure, contact the parking coordinator by cell phone so he may clarify the situation.
If a driver becomes confrontational, get the attention of the police officer immediately. If you are threatened with violence, find a police officer nearby immediately. We have police stationed at Plano AsiaFest, including some close by to you. Your safety is always of paramount importance.
