The West Coast Picnic began to provide an opportunity for Tibetans living as refugees in the U.S. and Canada to congregate and celebrate His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s Birthday together. In 1992, Tibetans began immigrating to the United States in larger numbers with the US Congress passing the 1990 Immigration Act, which allowed 1,000 Tibetans to immigrate to the United States.  This was the result of the His Holiness’ vision and the work of the Tibetan government in-exile at the time.  Tibetan refugees were scattered among host cities throughout the United States, settling wherever non-profits and states provided a network of support, services, and assistance. Some of the host cities were able to accommodate only a couple of Tibetans, while other cities with a more robust social service network were able to host a few hundred. Suffice it to say, with the challenges of moving to a new country,…