Philly celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month: Concerts, walking tours, art workshops, film festivals, and more

It may be mid-May but it s not too late to celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander AANHPI Heritage Month In just the first two weeks Philadelphia has held events around everything from the history of Black and Asian solidarity through art to celebrating Indonesian civilization and Filipino food And Philadelphians still have plenty of chances to explore and appreciate AAPI lifestyle over the next minimal weeks into June and through the summer Here s a curated guide in chronological order to the several festivals book readings walking tours volunteer days educational workshops and more taking place around Philly this month Upcoming Wednesday May NARUTO The Symphonic Experience A live concert that brings the beloved anime to life on a grand scale at the Kimmel Center s Miller Theater This two-hour event features a montage of iconic scenes from over episodes synchronized to a live orchestra performing Toshio Masuda s original figure Fans will relive Naruto Uzumaki s journey to become Hokage facing rivalries challenges and development along the way Audience sing-a-long welcome - tickets p m Thursday May AAU Championship Night RSVP for this event at FACTS Charter School in Callowhill They ll have a variety of board games and snacks to share Free with donations welcome to p m Courtesy of SEAMACC Thursday May SEAMAAC s th Anniversary Gala The American Swedish Historical Museum hosts this fundraising celebration of the Philly nonprofit s work serving the Southeast Asian locality Featuring multi-ethnic cuisine performances and access to the museum s galleries youth adults to p m Friday May Stewards of Family History Next Generations with Kyron Young This exploration of the methods of collecting family history and archivism outside of the bounds of traditional academia is part of the Memory Workers Guild s fellowship project with Asian Arts Initiative s Crescendo exhibit FREE to p m Friday May Lotus Lounge Drag Show at Drag queen and host Asia Monroe takes the stage with surprise special guest performers from Philly s AAPI and LGBTQ communities Free with no cover Tips for performers recommended Food and drinks available to purchase to p m Saturday May Ichiko Aoba Luminescent Creatures Tour Japanese singer songwriter composer and multi-instrumentalist Ichiko Aoba bends space around her pulling listeners from reality and surrounding them in the comforting fabric of her imagination She s been casting these spells since her debut at years old making picturesque dioramas with only her voice and guitar At the Miller Theater - tickets p m Saturday May Asian American Pie II In Celebration of AAPI Heritage Month WXPN and MilkBoy host this show featuring Kikashima IKE th Anniversary Reunion Show and Judah Kim tickets waitlist available p m show Wednesday May Moana Movie Night Watch the sequel on a -foot screen outdoors at Sunset Social p m Friday May Batik Workshop Learn about the history and art of Indonesian batik then practice the technique to create your own design Free but space is limited so make sure you RSVP At FACTS Charter School to p m View this post on Instagram A post shared by Asian Americans United asianamericansunited Friday May SOUND TYPE Kengchakaj x Nate Chinen at Asian Arts Initiative Award-winning pianist improviser and electronics experimentalist Kengchakaj s practice engages with organizing and improvising sounds that draw inspiration from ancestral soundscapes and modes of collaboration and expression rooted in Southeast Asian tradition and lineage Plus featured guest writer Nate Chinen leads a constituents seminar exploring Kengchakaj s sound practice Donations encouraged p m Saturday May SASA Teach-In Philly youth are invited to recap the civil action against the proposed Sixers arena in Center City and learn how to get involved in immigrant advocacy as Students Against the Sixers Arena and Ginger Arts Center focuses on preserving and building AAPI communities civilization and rights Free with RSVP to p m Tuesday May Book Club at Cupid s Bookshop The new romance bookshop in Manayunk welcomes AAPI featured author Ana Huang to talk about her novel King of Envy Free but RSVP required due to limited space to p m View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cupid s Bookshop thecupidbookshop Wednesday May The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift A Live Reading Drift on over to Tattooed Mom on South Street for Theatre Contra s live reading of the cult classic p m Saturday May AAPI Career and Professional Fair Calling all AAPI high schoolers college students and young professionals Get resume cover letter sponsorship interview practice meet with expected employers and hear from arrangement with AAPI professionals in diverse career fields Free with registration at bit ly aaucareerfair a m to p m Saturday May Chinatown History Exhibit Pop-Up at the Crane Region Center Bring old photos that you want to digitize stories about your or your family s connection to Chinatown and your curiosity about Philly s Chinatown Image courtesy of PAAFF Saturday May PAAFF Spring Showcase The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival s inaugural Spring Showcase closes out AANHPI Heritage Month and honors Asian filmmakers and other creatives with a day of film screenings performances and discussions Included films include Chinatown Cha Cha How to Sue the Klan Paper Marriage The Queen s Flowers and more Various locations include Symphony Philly the PMA and the Asian Arts Initiative Prices range from free to per person Wednesday June Digital Gardening at Home with Khalil Abdellah Participate in a DVD storage burning and USB storage backup session for cherished media information Participants will use disk cataloging program to create digital gardens out of their stored information and discuss methods and benefits of offline records storage both personal and political and optimize their collections for easy managed sharing with neighborhood members The workshop will also demonstrate approaches of doing this same cataloging and digital gardening online with platforms such as Are na or Roam Research At Asian Arts Initiative to p m Saturday June Revolution Remix Starting at the Liberty Bell and ending at Race Street Pier on the banks of the Delaware River Revolution Remix shares stories of South Asians in Philadelphia from the s to the present day Hosted by the South Asian American Digital Archive this walking tour will change the way you see Philadelphia and its history tickets a m Thursday June Memory Media Library A Watch Party with Lois Cheaye The Memory Workers Guild hosts this collective viewing of queer people of color in art film poetry and other archived testimonials held in the Asian Arts Initiative s Callowhill space to p m Skewers at the Southeast Asian Industry in FDR Park Cory Sharber WHYY Ongoing Through Saturday May AAPI Heritage Month Jewish American Heritage Month joint celebration With services ranging from Asian Americans and the Constitution to Speaking Out With Suffragists Mabel and Ernestine this joint celebration of heritages and communities is a month-long affair at the National Constitution Center Explore the impact and legacy of historical figures like Fred Korematsu Justice Louis Brandeis and suffragists Mabel Ping Hua Lee and Ernestine Hara Kettler In-person and online - museum admission Throughout May Within Us Film Series As part of Visit Philly s In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union project this series focuses on the diverse voices and neighborhoods within the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander communities Within Us celebrates that depth and diversity with weekly videos highlighting members of the society in Philly Through May Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month the PMA Browse the Asian Art Collections and check out the prints of the PMA s collaborator artist Cynthia Zhou whose Every Railroad Runs West uses the form of a Chinese kite to tell the story of the Chinese immigrants who built the transcontinental railroad throughout the s As these workers connected the West and East coasts her work connects California to Philadelphia by incorporating pieces of rusted metal railroad from the Schuylkill River museum admission Through Wednesday June Lost In Animation Film Series This month s movies at the Philadelphia Film Society showcase the genre s range and innovation with screenings of Love Pop Ghost In The Shell Innocence and Redline Various showtimes and dates tickets for PFS members Through Saturday June Crescendo How Art Makes Movements - at the Asian Arts Initiative Browse this historical survey of multidisciplinary art projects that intersected with Asian American social movements between and Largely inspired by jazz and improvised music art forms central to the Black Arts Movement the artists featured in this exhibition intended to redefine the presence of Asian Americans and broaden their artistic horizons beyond the politics of representation Donations welcome Weekends through October Southeast Asian Domain in FDR Park A classic warm weather destination this annual weekend gathering open from a m to p m Saturdays and Sundays evolved from an informal cultural and economic hub for refugees and immigrants from Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia Cambodia and Laos for over years into a tourist and not-for-tourist destination as well as a catalyst for the creation of the Vendors Association of FDR Park ensuring that the gathering of entrepreneurs and families will continue to thrive in the welcoming space they ve carved out Season is from April to June and is exposed near the Broad Street exit Picnic Area Season runs from July to October and is revealed near the Taney Baseball Field Picnic Area The post Philly celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Concerts walking tours art workshops film festivals and more appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY