APA Heritage Month

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An "American Idol" semi-finalist and the  author of The
Chopsticks-Fork Principle, A Memoir and Manual will  highlight Indiana University's
annual early observance of Asian  Pacific American Heritage Month, which honors the
rich history and  presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.



Festivities will begin on Friday, March 28, with an opening lunch  reception at the
Indiana Memorial Union, where winners of an essay  contest co-sponsored by IU's
Creative Writing Program will be  announced. P. Sarita Soni, IU vice provost for
research, will be  the featured speaker.



Later that day, Paul Kim, a semi-finalist during season six of  "American Idol," will
perform at the Asian American Association's  15th Annual Taste of Asia at the IU
Auditorium, 1211 E. Seventh St.  Kim, a native of Saratoga, Calif., wanted to alter the
  stereotypical Asian image that William Hung gave during "American  Idol's" first
season. He continues to perform throughout the  central California coast area.



Taste Of Asia will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will feature samples of  Asian cuisine from
various restaurants in Bloomington as well as a  talent show. The event also will
include displays set up by Asian  and Asian American interest groups on and off campus
that reflect  the cultural diversity within these communities. The event is free  and
open to the public. For more information, e-mail aaa@indiana.edu.



Cathy Bao Bean, an educator and author of The Chopsticks-Fork  Principle: A Memoir and
Manual (We Press, 2002), will present the  APAHM Keynote Speech at 5 p.m. on April 4 in
the School of  Journalism Auditorium in Ernie Pyle Hall, 940 E. Seventh St.



The title of Bao Bean's talk is "Living and Laughing, The  Chopsticks-Fork Principle: A
Course in Diversity." She will focus  on multiculturalism and will encourage those in
attendance to  analyze and enjoy how they all are bi-cultural in some way. She  uses
the story of her own immigrant experience to explain how to  reconcile the expectations
of families and society at large. In her  book, she also explains how to raise a child
in a respectful  context while also choosing the "path less traveled."



Born in Kweilin, China, Bao Bean came to the United States with her  father in 1946,
when he represented the Republic of China on  official business for the Taiwan Sugar
Corp. When Mao's "bamboo  curtain" fell in 1949, she, her parents and a sister remained
here  (her youngest sister joined them in 1962).



Bao Bean has a bachelor of arts degree from Tufts University and a  master of arts
degree from Claremont Graduate College. She has  taught philosophy at Montclair State
College and East Stroudsburg  University. She is a board member of the Claremont
Graduate  University School of the Arts and Humanities, the New Jersey  Council for the
Humanities and the Society for Values in Higher  Education.



The Asian Culture Center coordinates many of the events at IU  Bloomington, which will
include ethnic festivals, gatherings and  lectures reflecting immigrant history and
cultures and diasporic  experience. There will be performances of both traditional and 
modern music, a film showing, art exhibits, cooking demonstrations  and an Asian
knowledge bowl contest.



The ACC's Web site at http://www.indiana.edu/~acc will provide  updates and further
details about APAHM events. Following are the  month's other events (major events are
listed first), which also  are free and open to the public:



"Funk Reading," a program that is part of the Writers at the  Waldron Series, will
feature music by Mother Truckin' DJs and DJ  Festus and will begin at 7 p.m. on April 2
at the John Waldron Arts  Center, 122 S. Walnut St. It will feature nationally known
poets  and authors, including:


Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of At the Drive-In Volcano and  Miracle Fruit ( both
Tupelo Press) and winner of the Tupelo Press  Judge's Prize;



Aracelis Girmay, a Cave Canem fellow and member of Acentos, whose  book of poems, Teeth
(Curbstone Press) was published last year;



Patrick Rosal, author of two full-length poetry collections, Uprock  Headspin Scramble
and Dive, winner of the Members' Choice Award  from the Asian American Writers'
Workshop , and My American  Kundiman, which won the Global Filipino Literary Award and
the 2006  Book Award for Poetry from the Association of Asian American Studies;



Tyehimba Jess, whose first book, leadbelly, was a winner of the  2004 National Poetry
Series. Jess received a 2006 Whiting Award, a  Literature Fellowship from the National
Endowment for the Arts in  2004 and was a 2004-5 Winter Fellow at Provincetown's Fine
Arts  Work Center.



Ross Gay, an IU assistant professor of English, whose poems have  appeared in American
Poetry Review, Harvard Review, andAtlanta  Review, among other journals. His first
book, Against Which, was  published by CavanKerry Press in 2006.



The event is sponsored by: Indiana Review, the IU Creative Writing  MFA Program, the
Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity  and Multicultural Affairs, the
Asian American Studies Program,  Asian Culture Center, Bloomington Area Arts Council
and WFHB  Community Radio. For more information, visit http:// indianareview.org or
call 812-855-9539 and 812-855-3439.



"Global Village 2008: An International Cultural Showcase," from 1  p.m. to 6 p.m. on
April 5 in Willkie Auditorium, 150 N. Rose Ave.  Sponsored by AIESEC, the event will
include ethnic food, dances,  fashion shows, games and music.
Asian Fest, which will be from 10 a.m. to noon on April 26 at the  Showers City Hall
Atrium and Outdoor Stage area at Eighth and  Morton streets (in conjunction with the
Farmer's Market), will  feature Asian cooking demonstrations, musical and dance 
performances by Asian artists and educational and craft activities  for the whole
family. It is being presented by the ACC in  cooperation with the Bloomington Parks and
Recreation Department  and the Safe and Civil City Program.
"An Evening of Japanese Art and Music -- Tradition and Crossover,"  from 5 p.m. to 7
p.m. on May 10 at the IU Art Museum, 1133 E.  Seventh St.


Baisho Matsumoto, a master of Japanese music, will play a string  instrument called a
shamisen and a bamboo flute called a shakuhachi  and sing in a variety of styles at the
"Evening of Japanese Art and  Music." In the first half of the concert, Baisho will be
joined by  Yoshimi Fujimoto from Japan and Molly Jeon from Bloomington, who  each won
folk-song singing contests in Japan. They will perform  traditional Japanese music,
which ranges from chic to soulful to  agitating. In the second half of the concert,
Baisho will be joined  by Bloomington's Yoshi Kitagawa and other local musicians from 
Western music tradition. They will perform in a jazz-style jam  session filled with
improvisations.



There also will be an exhibition of Japanese artworks featuring  music in the regular
Asian collection section. The concert is the  finale of a series of local workshops and
is financially supported  by a grant from the College Arts and Humanities Institute and
the  East Asian Studies Center. Other supporting organizations include:  Department of
Linguistics, Department of Folklore and  Ethnomusicology, Asian Culture Center and IU
Art Museum. For more  information, contact Yoshi Kitagawa atkitagawa@indiana.edu.



The Asian Knowledge Bowl, on April 16, is a competition among  student groups that
tests their knowledge of Asian American history  and culture. Winning teams will
receive a $250 prize deposited into  their student organization account and the second
place team will  receive $100. The competition is open to all registered  undergraduate
student organizations. The competition will be from 6  p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Kelley
School of Business. The event is co- sponsored by Herman B Wells Library's
Multicultural Outreach Program.
Cultural Conversations: A Parent/Teacher Workshop at Bloomington  High School South,
from 9 a.m. to noon on April 19. The program,  which is supported by the Monroe County
Community School Corp., the  Asian Culture Center and the Felix Chen Memorial Fund,
will focus  on practical strategies to facilitate communications between  teachers and
parents from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Japan Student Association's "Japan Night" from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on  March 29 in the
Flame Room at McNutt Residence Center.
Korean Student Association's "Korean Night" at 6 p.m. on Apri 4 at  McNutt Residence
Center.
"Thai Night" at 6 p.m. on April 6 at McNutt Residence Center. Thai  cuisine and
refreshments will be served. There also will be  informational booths and performances
by local Thai students.
The Mr. & Ms. Asia contest will begin at 6 p.m. on April 13 at the  IU Auditorium.
The annual IU Go Game Competition will begin at 4 p.m. on April 11  at the ACC.
Wei-Chi, as it is known in China, or Baduk, as it is  known in Korea, or Go in Japan is
considered by many game experts  as the world's greatest strategic skill game,
surpassing chess in  complexity and scope. Registration is required for competitors and
  can be done via e-mail toacc@indiana.edu. Prizes will include T- shirts and gift
certificates.
The IU Asian Alumni Association Student Scholarship Co-ed  Volleyball Tournament, from
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on April 6 at the  field house of the School of Health, Physical
Education and  Recreation. The first 16 teams that register will be eligible to 
participate. For more informaiton, contact asianalumni@alumni.iu.edu.
The annual Student Recognition Banquet, hosted by the Asian Alumni  Association, Asian
Culture Center and Asian Student Union, on April  25 at the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni
Center, 1000 E. 17th St.

530 E. Kirkwood Ave.
Suite 203
Bloomington, IN
47408-4003
Email: iuinfo@indiana.edu
Web: http://newsinfo.iu.edu


Media Contacts
George Vlahakis
IU Media Relations
gvlahaki@indiana.edu
812-855-0846

Melanie Castillo-Cullather
IU Asian Culture Center
mcullath@indiana.edu
812-856-5361