Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

GettyImages

AARPNY is proud to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with exciting virtual events for AARP members and guests. You are welcome to connect with us for FREE programming highlighting AAPI culture, heritage and history!

We kick off our festivities with a powerful message from our Executive Council member, Rocky Chin. He shares his thoughts on the importance of celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islanders during a time of great strife within the community. His words encourage us to be open to people and communities we aren't familiar with. We hope you can participate in a robust month of virtual events to show our support for our AAPI family. Watch the video on Facebook!

Our AARPNY Advocacy Program Specialist, Hui Lin also shares an inspiring message about the rise in hate crimes within the community and how "everyone deserves to feel safe...and that humanity and love always win in the end." Watch the video on Facebook!

Courtesy of MOCA

1. Join us on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 5:00 PM EST for a live stream virtual tour of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) including permanent exhibition, “With a Single Step - Stories in the Making of America,” with a Q&A session with MOCA President, Nancy Yao Maasbach.

Register for more information: https://aarp.cvent.com/MOCAtour

Courtesy of Chef Kian Lam Kho

2. Next, if you are a foodie and love dumplings, join us on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 5PM EST for an up close and personal one-hour dumpling making virtual workshop with award winning Chef Kian Lam Kho.

Register for more information: https://aarp.cvent.com/MOCAcooks

Additionally, here are a few more AARP events you might be interested in:

• 4 May 8-9pm ET | Chinese American Museum (LA)
It Matters: Revisiting Vincent Chin and His Historic Impact on the Asian American Movement

Paula Yoo sits down with Pam Ng to discuss Yoo's extraordinary research from the trial following the tragic death of Vincent Chin.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/it-matters-a-conversation-with-paula-yoo-and-pam-ng-tickets-150655684207

• 6 May 4-4:30pm ET | Museum of Chinese in America
MOCAKIDS Author Meet & Greet with Julie Leung

Join us for a MOCAKIDS Meet & Greet with award-winning author Julie Leung! Julie will read her inspiring new book, The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee, about the first Chinese American woman to fly for the U.S. military. Then you’ll have a chance to ask Julie questions about her writing process and together we’ll create a paper plane in honor of Hazel.
Register: https://mocanyc-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqc-2gqTwuEtSsqTu0joSU9xSrxeqkaORR

• 11 May 7-8pm ET | Chinese American Museum (DC)
The Life and Legacy of the Culinary Great, Cecilia Chiang

Emigrating from China to San Francisco in 1960, Cecilia has been lauded as the first to introduce and make accessible Northern style Mandarin Chinese cuisine to all Americans. Her culinary prowess and career success made Cecilia the standard for Mandarin cuisine and a beloved name throughout the culinary world. Hear how friends of Cecilia and culinary minds are upholding her legacy of authenticity and hard work, from supporting heritage Chinese restaurants in New York City, to applying Cecilia’s methods of resilience and creativity in the kitchens of San Francisco.
Register: https://www.chineseamericanmuseum.org/cecilia

• 11 May 5:30pm ET | Arab American Museum
Yalla Eat! Chef Series: Yaseen Jawad presents Layali Lubnan

Our Yalla Eat! Instagram Takeover Chef Series features Arab American chefs demonstrating delectable recipes on our Instagram Stories. Tune in on Instagram to join in and check out previous recipes on our Instagram highlights or the Chef Series archive.
Register: https://www.instagram.com/oh_my_foodness/

• 11 May 8am ET | Densho Project
Facing the Mountain: Virtual Book Launch Event

Join Densho on May 11 for the official book launch of Facing the Mountain, a new book about WWII Japanese American incarceration and the 442nd RCT by Daniel James Brown, NY Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat. The virtual event will feature a conversation between Brown and Densho Executive Director Tom Ikeda, who has conducted oral histories with many of the men highlighted in the book. Facing the Mountain grew out of conversations Brown had with Ikeda in 2015.
Register: https://densho.org/mountain/

• 13 May 9-10pm ET | Japanese American National Museum (LA)
Nikkei Uncovered: A Poetry Reading

Join us for our second annual virtual poetry reading with a powerful lineup of poets previously featured in Discover Nikkei’s Nikkei Uncovered: a poetry column, hosted by author, poet, and performer Traci Kato-Kiriyama. This year, we reached out to pairs of poets who will be reading works in conversation with each other. Each pair has their own unique relationship that will bring depth of conversation and insight into their poetry. Kato-Kiriyama will also provide prompts for audience members to write and reflect on.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/natsukashii-writings-on-the-nisei-experience-tickets-149043500121

• 15 May 2-3pm ET | National Japanese American Historical Society
Natsukashii: Writings on the Nisei Experience

Grab your morning buns and tea and join us for some literary delights of selected short stories with writing instructor, and author Naomi Shibata of Bend with the Wind and her Nisei writing enthusiasts. Journey into past, as they share stories growing up in Hayward, California in the 1940s and 1950s.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/natsukashii-writings-on-the-nisei-experience-tickets-149043500121

• 22 May 2-3pm ET | National Japanese American Historical Society
Finding Your Roots: An Introduction to JA Genealogy & NJAHS’ Digital Archives

This popular series continues with an introduction to conducting Japanese American Genealogical Research from the comforts of your home. Executive Director Rosalyn Tonai shows you a step by step process on how to get started on your family records search on-line. And there’s more than meets the eye, as Collection Manager shows you the latest features in NJAHS Digital Archives and how-to conduct your research using finding aids, all free and publicly accessible.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/finding-your-roots-an-introduction-to-njahs-digital-archives-and-genealogy-tickets-149045873219

• 23 May 4-5:30pm ET | Japanese American National Museum
8th Annual Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest: A Virtual Celebration

Marvel at the amazing and creative ways that writers can imagine Little Tokyo and expand the fictional boundaries of the Japanese American experience. Each year, the Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest heightens awareness of Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo by challenging both new and experienced writers to write a story that captures the spirit and essence of Little Tokyo and the people in it. Noted theatre artists (to be announced) will showcase the winning stories with dramatic readings from the three contest categories—Adult, Youth, and Japanese language. Each category winner is awarded cash prize and their story will be published in The Rafu Shimpo, on Discover Nikkei, and on the new Little Tokyo Historical Society website. The contest is presented by Little Tokyo Historical Society in partnership with JANM’s Discover Nikkei project.
Register: https://9644p.blackbaudhosting.com/9644p/tickets?tab=2&txobjid=f1bbafae-065e-4ac9-b272-0f3aac930839

• 25 May 5-5:45pm ET | Japanese American National Museum
Art Break: Clay! with Ako Castuera

Ako Castuera’s sculptural work is informed by the diverse cultural and environmental features of Southern California, on Tongva Land, where she was born and currently lives. Ako’s sculptural work is a material exploration which draws on mythmaking to give body to personal and global histories, incorporating a variety of mediums including locally gathered and commercial clay, neighborhood yard trimmings, compost, yarn, and living worms. Ako’s practice includes teaching workshops on storytelling, local clay and compost. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the US. She maintains a concurrent career in animation, most recently as an episode director on City of Ghosts and is also known for her work as a writer/storyboard artist on Adventure Time. Castuera will be teaching participants how to make and form an easy bakers clay using just flour, salt, and water, inspired by artist Ruth Asawa who used this simple medium to create impressive sculptural structures. Join for this interactive workshop designed to spark creativity in the middle of your day.
Register: https://9644p.blackbaudhosting.com/9644p/tickets?tab=2&txobjid=a9a59aaa-6a81-4271-adfb-f930f8778693

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to learn about upcoming virtual events!