“UnConference” - Mar 6 & 7 - noon

Spark the Dialogue! Speak Your Mind!

The Asian Canadian Cultural Organization (ACCO) is pleased to announce “UnConference” on March 6 and 7. This unique series of workshops will address the under-discussed issues affecting Asian Canadians in the greater community. Vancouver’s large Asian Canadian population is reason for celebration as well as study. Who are Asian Canadians? How do Asian Canadians feel about their part in Vancouver? Are stereotypes prevalent? Are Asian Canadians being fairly represented in the media? How about in business? Is interracial dating a source of conflict or cooperation? What are the issues regarding Asian Canadians in the queer community? Or queer Asian Canadians in the Asian community?

As a youth initiative, ACCO was established in January 2007. We are a non-profit student group celebrating Asian Canadian culture with the overall objective to create an Asian Canadian Studies Program at UBC. ACCO promotes youth outreach with academic dialogue and raising public awareness on campus. We advocate for safe space at UBC by challenging stereotypes and other social barriers that affect everyone in Vancouver.

Since our formation in spring 2007 some of our activities have included:

Film screening representations of Asian Americans and Canadians within popular media
Imagine UBC: First Week and mature students orientation
Outpost: Asian Canadians Reframed, an interactive art display consisting of peoples’ perception of Asian Canadians at UBC and SFU that addressed Asian Canadian stereotypes and challenges

We are pleased to have been supported in our activities by:
Access & Diversity Office, UBC
Perspectives, UBC’s Chinese-English bilingual student newspaper
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), A UBC education and social action student organization
Broadway Youth Resource Centre, Vancouver
Chinatown Next Youth Revitalization Committee, Vancouver

We also appreciated the advice and support from UBC faculty including Dr. Henry Yu, Dr. Colin Green, Dr. Jennifer Chan, and Dr. Christopher Lee; as well as that from Hayne Wai, Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC.

Key workshop components of the “UnConference” will include:
The Feminization of Asian Males and Asians in the Media
Asian Representation in Popular Sports and Asian Role Models
Interracial Families and Dating Relationships
The Bamboo Ceiling: Asians in the North American Workforce
Asians in the Queer Community

Everyone is welcome to join in the discussions running from noon until 5 pm!

On March 6th and 7th University of British Columbia students will be given the unprecedented chance to discuss with experts issues relating to the Asian Canadian experience.

Despite Vancouver’s sizeable Asian Canadian population, there has been a considerable lack of discussion and study on these crucial issues.
The Unconference, a series of workshops dedicated to exploring these issues, will highlight these issues, and ultimately UBC’s unique position to develop an Asian Canadian Studies program.

The group hosting “UnConference” is the Asian Canadian Cultural Organization (ACCO).

Composed of UBC students, the group strives to create an honest, equal dialogue in a city that seems reluctant to admit real differences. A significant step in this critical process of self-examination for everyone in the city is the creation of an Asian Canadian Studies program at UBC.

The conference will look at, and host workshops on, issues of:
Asian Canadian role models and identity problems
Media presentation of Asian men and women and the impact these presentations have on Asian Canadians themselves
Perceptions of Asian Canadians in the workforce and the effects these perceptions have on their ability to advance their careers
Interracial dating and families: problems and benefits
Asian Canadians in the queer community and explore stereotypes and fetishes, as well as family and acceptance of sexual diversity within Asian Canadian communities.

To achieve this, ACCO will host workshops with experts related to each topic, allowing students to discuss their own concerns in an informal environment.

The conference is as much about learning from each other as it is learning from those with experience with these issues.
These are topics on everyone’s mind, yet rarely discussed in the media or even among friends. ACCO feels that this is largely due to a lack of information about these issues.

Special guests at “UnConference” will include Rudy Chung, President of the National Association of Asian American Professionals Vancouver (NAAAP), Helen Ma representing the City of Vancouver, Newton Hoang from Broadway Youth Resource Centre, Shimpei Chihara of the Asian Society for the Intervention of AIDS (ASIA), Karen Lind of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), as well as several others.

For more information, including complete schedules, commentary, and other materials, please contact:

Kepler Rotheisler, Public Relations of ACCO (kepler_rotheisler@hotmail.com) 778-865-6762

Noreen Ma, President of ACCO (noreenlma@gmail.com) 604-561-8974

Mina Shum's DOUBLE HAPPINESS - Mar 11 - 6pm

In conjunction to the UBC Centenary the UBC Film Production Alumni Association is hosting a screening of DOUBLE HAPPINESS. I have included detail to the event below and attached a copy of the Press Release. We were wondering if you would be interested in writing an article or promoting the event on your site.

As part of the 2008 UBC Centenary Screening Series, the UBC Film Production Alumni Association presents…

DOUBLE HAPPINESS
preceded by the short film SCATTERING EDEN

Directors Mina Shum and Nimisha Mukerji in attendance!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | VanCity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre (1181 Seymour St.)
Reception 6 PM | Show 8 PM | Q & A and after-party 10 PM
Tickets $10.00 adults / $8.00 students/seniors | Members free! ($25 annual membership)
More info and tickets at 604-616-5055 or www.ubcfilmalumni.org

International House's celebration- FESTIVA - Feb 29 - 4pm to midnight

International House's annual multicultural celebration, Festiva, will conclude UBC International Week 2008. Join hundreds of people from the UBC community and learn more about what international clubs have to offer at UBC. Savour foods from around the globe and watch performances. Previous performances have included reggae, gumboot dancing, Persian traditional music, bhangra, capoeira, and Korean fan dancing. This year's line-up promises to be the best ever. At the end of it all, dance the night away to a live DJ set.

CULTURAL CHALLENGE, Race ends at 7:00pm, SUB Ballroom
FESTIVA, 4:00pm-12:00am: International House's annual multicultural celebration, Festiva, will conclude UBC International Week 2008. Join hundreds of people from the UBC community and learn more about what international clubs have to offer at UBC. Savour foods from around the globe and watch performances. Previous performances have included reggae, gumboot dancing, Persian traditional music, bhangra, capoeira, and Korean fan dancing. This year's line-up promises to be the best ever. At the end of it all, dance the night away to a live DJ set.

· Food Fair, 4:00-6:00pm, International House
· Performance and Dance, 7:00pm-12:00am, SUB Ballroom

Student Union Building
SUB Ballroom

The World Poetry Reading Series Seventh Anniversary Gala Celebration - Feb 29 - 6:30pm

At the Vancouver Public Library, Alice McKaye Room, 250 W. Georgia, Vancouver, BC

Featuring:
A living wall of poetry from Canada and around the world:
Poems for the Environment
Light refreshments
Display tables
Awards.

6:30 pm: Rene Hugo Sanchez Folklorist and Musician
7:30 pm. Gala program begins with your hosts: Ariadne Sawyer and Alejandro Mujica-Olea.

Speakers, poets and Presenters:
- Janice Douglas
- Elizabeth Ball. City of Vancouver
- Mrs. Sabrina Noorani
- Bong Ja Ahn
- Diego Bastianutti
- Danielle Arcand

Blessings by:
- Godwin Barton, First Nations
- Dr. Douglas Bacon
- Rene Hugo Sanchez, Quechwa

World Poetry Life Time Achievement Awards For:
- Bernice Lever, Poet, Wise Woman and Editor
- Ashok Bhargava, Poet, Writer and Humanitarian

African Heritage Month Tribute:
- Addena Sumter Freitag
- Ola Tawose

Awards:
- Dr. Douglas Bacon, WP Volunteer of the year
- Cora Salvador
- Barbara Mumford
- Dr. Diego Bastianutti
- Dr. Lucia Gorea
- Mehdi Latifi

Music by:
- Rene Hugo Sanchez
- Andy Vine
- Pancho and Sal

Free admission
Come help us celebrate!

Contact Person:
Ariadne Sawyer,MA
World Poetry Media

Phone: 604-526-4729
ariadnes@uniserve.com
www.ariadnescoaching.com

Bhangra Authentic - Mar 2 - 2pm & 7pm

Co-presented by VIBC & Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad

Bhangra Authentic brings the folk origins of Bhangra to the stage with an English narrated presentation explaining and presenting different Punjabi music and dance. Listen as poetry is fused with music, and watch as Punjabi folk dance emerges from the fields. Sign language interpretors will be at both shows of Bhangra Authentic.

Vancouver International Film Centre
Tickets $12.00 matinee / $18.00 at Ticketmaster.ca or 604.280.4444

The Drum Circle - Feb 29 - 7pm

Feel the beat of the drum from all parts of the world at the Drum Circle. Led by Sal Ferreras and presented by Vancouver Community College, this free event features prominent percussionists with their Punjabi counterparts in an exhibition of rhythms and beats from around the world. If you are a drummer or a drum enthusiast, don't miss the beat at Drum Circle. Free to the public.

Auditorium, Vancouver Community College – East Broadway

85 read: Ghosts of Chinese Poems - Feb 26 - 4pm

CENTRE FOR CHINESE RESEARCH, UBC
CK Choi Building, Conference Room #120
4:00-5:30pm

By Robert Majzels and Claire Huot

Experiments in the reception of classical Chinese poetry into English
- from writing to visual text to video to installation
- from author to translator to performer to spectator

Robert Majzels is a novelist, playwright, poet and translator, born in Montréal, Québec.

In 2007, he won the Alcuin Society Prize for Excellence in Book Design for the limited edition of his book, Apikoros Sleuth.

This Night the Kapo, an award winning full-length play, was produced at the Berkley Street Theatre in Toronto, in March 2004.

He was given the Governor General’s Award of Canada for his translation of France Daigle’s Just Fine in 2000.

With Erin Moure, Robert has also translated several books of poetry by Nicole Brossard.

He is presently an Associate Professor in English at the University of Calgary. His most recent novel is a murder mystery entitled THE HUMBUGS DIET.

Claire Huot is a sinologist who has written two works on contemporary Chinese culture (La Petite révolution culturelle, 1994; China’s New Cultural Scene, 2000).

She was Canada’s cultural counselor in Beijing from 2000 to 2002.

She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has been living in and out of China since 1980.

She is presently an instructor in the Faculty of Communication & Culture at the University of Calgary where she teaches China-related courses.

Her first novel, with a Mandarin speaking heroine, is a murder mystery entitled THE PRISON TANGRAM (Mercury Press, 2007).

She has been involved in Robert Majzels’ 85 project since 2004.

UBC International Week - Feb 25 to 29

UBC International Week is a focal point for international learning led by UBC students. With opportunities for interaction, reflection, and fun, the week is filled with global chats, international career and volunteer fairs, dance, drama, international films, displays, and delectable foods.

Join the UBC International Week organizing team in an unforgettable and dynamic week of events!

www.students.ubc.ca/go/iweek

Student Union Building

OPEN TEXT READING SERIES: LARISSA LAI - Feb 21 - 12:30pm

Sponsored by The Canada Council for the Arts
& the Creative Writing Degree Program at Capilano College

The Spring 2008 OPEN TEXT series at Capilano College continues on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 with a reading by Vancouver poet, novelist, and critic Larissa Lai:

Library 321 @ 12:30
Capilano College
2055 Purcell Way
North Vancouver

LARISSA LAI is the author of two novels When Fox Is a Thousand (Press Gang 1995, Arsenal Pulp 2004) and Salt Fish Girl (Thomas Allen Publishers 2002). She holds a PhD in English from the University of Calgary. From January to June 2006, she was a Writer-in-Residence in the English Department at Simon Fraser University. She recently held a SSHRC Post-doctoral Fellowship in the English Department at the University of British Columbia, and is currently an Assistant Professor in Canadian Literature there. She is currently working on a sequel to Salt Fish Girl, a collection of long poems called automaton biographies, and a critical book called The "I" of the Storm about strategies of subject production. Forthcoming from LINEbooks is Sybil Unrest, a long poem in collaboration with Rita Wong.

Kiran Ahluwalia - Feb 23 - 8pm

Christ Church Cathedral
690 Burrard Street

$25/23 Students, Seniors, Jazz Friends

Jazz Hotline: 604.872.5200
Toll Free: 1.888.438.5200

All ticket prices are subject to service charges.
*Jazz Friends receive REDUCED service charges. Jazz friends tickets available in person or over the phone through CJBS office only!

Presented by Vancouver's Coastal Jazz & Blues Society in partnership with the
Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad

"She has her eyes set on a hybrid music that mingles everything from Irish folk to bhangra….Ahluwalia gracefully wrests her way around notes like a cobra wrapping itself around an unsuspecting neck.”—Time Out Chicago

A highly distinctive vocalist, Indian-born, Toronto-raised Kiran Ahluwalia creates a vibrant twenty-first century sound from an ancient rule-bound song form. The Juno Award winner is considered one of North America’s great interpreters of ghazal—the Indian and Pakistani sung poetry about unrequited love.

Kiran has developed a repertoire of intriguing songs by seeking out Urdu poets in the Indian diaspora and setting their lyrics to music. The result is a deeply sensuous and beautiful collection of spellbinding, boundary-pushing ghazals and fun-loving Punjabi folk songs, which she delivers in her seductive Bollywood voice using contemporary instruments and arrangements.

Casting her unique ghazal style as its underpinning, Ahluwalia’s latest recording, Wanderlust (Times Square/4Q Records), also draws on the melancholic Portuguese song form fado, African grooves, jazz, and more. This musical wanderer continues to build a bridge across eras, continents, and cultures. With Rez Abbasi guitar, Nikku Nayar bass, Gurpreet Channa tablas, Ashok Bidaye harmonium.

http://www.coastaljazz.ca

World Poetry at the Women in Film and Television’s Great Adventure!

Come out and support our talented Women Poets from First Nations , Canada, South Korea, Transylvania, Japan and France!

Women In Film & Television Vancouver Celebrates International Women’s Day with The Great Adventure!

To recognize the achievements and adventures of women in the film and television industry, Women in Film and Television Vancouver will celebrate International

Women’s Day (March 8th) with a week of special events from Feb 29 – March 8, 2008.

The 3rd Annual Women in Film Festival kicks off with the Female Film Frenzy, a 48-hour film contest, and culminates with the 8th Annual Spotlight Awards Gala, honouring key contributors to our local industry. More than 50 films from around the world will be screened at the Vancity Theatre during the three-day festival, showcasing women’s voices and stories.

Full schedule and ticket info will be available at www.wiffbc.com
For information, contact Women In Film & Television Vancouver at 604-685-1152

Caravan Local Global Music Series

World and Roots concerts at some of Vancouver's top intimate music rooms, featuring some of Vancouver's top performers (and the occasional visitor from out of town!)

Tuesdays at the Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club (3611 West Broadway)

- March 4 - Dyad: post-trad Americana from the Appalachian mountains and beyond
- March 11 - Pepe Danza & guests: New Frontiers in world-electronica-percussion fusion.
- March 18 - Alcvin Ramos with Bernie Arai and Chris Gestrin: jazzed up shakuhachi flute, didgeridoo, keyboards, bass and more.
- March 25 - ZimbaMoto: led by Kurai Mubaiwa, the group fuses traditional Zimbabwean music with contemporary dance rhythms.

TO RESERVE, CALL 604-738-1959 OR VISIT WWW.CELLARJAZZ.COM. $10 cover, and $10 minimum food-beverage order.

WASHI - Ink Works of Hiroshi Hara - Feb 29 to Apr 25

OPENING: Friday, February 29, 2008, 3-6pm, Hiroshi Hara in Attendance

Art Beatus (Vancouver) Consultancy Ltd. is delighted to present “Washi – Ink Works of Hiroshi Hara”. The exhibition will open with an afternoon reception open to the public on Friday, February 29 from 3pm to 6pm, and the artist, visiting from Japan, will be in attendance. Although Hara has had many solo and group shows in his homeland, this will be his debut exhibition in Canada. “Washi – Ink Works of Hiroshi Hara” begins Friday, February 29, 2008 and runs through to Friday, April 25, 2008.

Washi is Japanese paper which has been created from Japanese plants, mainly Kozo or Mitsumata. Born in 1956 in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Hiroshi Hara’s love for paper began at a young age when his family moved to Iyo Mishima (now Shikoku Chuo City) into a building next door to a place that made washi. Whenever his mother was looking for him, he could often be found watching the washi being made in the workplace. Hiroshi’s father was a banker who later left his career to work in a paper mill. The artist remembers his father’s amazing efforts and strict approach to making the paper; he feels this is where he developed a deep respect, love and appreciation for the beauty and warmth of washi.

The artist’s current works are made on his own handmade washi with Japanese ink. Many pieces have names relating to nature and natural phenomena, much the same as the washi itself which is made from plant materials and water. Hara limits how much he does on the paper as he does not want to take away from the washi’s beauty. First drawing transparent brushstrokes, then applying delicate shading with Japanese ink over the lines so that one can still see them through the ink, the artist hopes to inspire viewers’ meditational feelings and conjecture through his work using the simplest techniques and the least colour.

Its history in Japanese culture dates far back and has been nurtured throughout the ages. Hara feels the idea behind his work and technique brings focus back to an ecological lifestyle that is important to our contemporary society. He is always conscious of the work that goes into making washi and the elements from the natural environment used to produce not only the paper, but his work itself. Because these pure elements play such important roles in his work, he studies natural phenomena very carefully. “Washi has its own beauty. Washi welcomes light and diffuses it, and produces a soft and comfortable atmosphere. Washi, itself is an artist and I, myself produce works from the result of the collaboration with Washi”.

Art Beatus, with a location in Vancouver, Canada and two locations in Hong Kong, showcases international art with a focus on contemporary Chinese art.
Art Beatus (Vancouver) is located in the Nelson Square Office Tower at 108 – 808 Nelson Street. For more information, please contact Media Relations, Tamla Mah or Akemi Kojihata by email to info@artbeatus.com or by telephone at 604.688.2633.

Reel Asian Book Launch - Feb 28 - 7pm

The Vancouver Reel Asian Book Launch celebrates BC-based Asian Canadian filmmakers

On Thursday, February 28, celebrate the publication of Reel Asian: Asian Canada On Screen on Canada’s west coast with a book launch at VIVO Media Arts. The first anthology of its kind, Reel Asian, co-published with the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, examines East and Southeast Asian Canadian contributions to independent film and video and marks the eleventh year of the groundbreaking film festival. From artist-run centres, theories of hyphenation, gay and lesbian cinema, new media technologies and sweet 'n' sour controversies, Reel Asian is a multi-faceted picture of independent Asian film in Canada and features a substantial selection of images and stills.

Reel Asian features the work of B.C.-based filmmakers such as Karin Lee, Mina Shum, Wayne Yung, Paul Wong, Anne-Marie Fleming and Ho Tam, among others. The Vancouver launch will feature a program of short screenings of work by some of the filmmakers and a night-long party.

Reel Asian: Asian Canada On Screen Vancouver Launch
co-presented by VIVO Media Arts, Cineworks, Centre A and On Edge
sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, British Columbia and the City of Vancouver

VIVO Media Arts Centre, 1965 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
Thursday, February 28, 2008
7:00 pm
Free

Reel Asian: Asian Canada On Screen brings together creators of award-winning features and acclaimed experimental shorts; critics, curators, artists and activists; enemy aliens, impersonators, ex-pats and 'Food Jammers' to explore how history and culture have played out onscreen. Whether calling geopolitical and generic categories into question or finding new ways of unleashing the magic of the cinematic image, the anthology, edited by Elaine Chang, showcases the ways in which Asian Canadians are making their distinctive mark on screens from the multiplex to the iPod, across Canada and beyond.

Contributors include Nobu Adilman, Jason Anderson, Leon Aureus, Cameron Bailey, Romeo Candido, Elaine Chang, Lily Cho, Nicole Chung, David Eng, Ann Marie Fleming, Richard Fung, Monika Kin Gagnon, Colin Geddes, Kwoi Gin, Mike Hoolboom, Alice Ming Wai Jim, Cheuk Kwan, Julia Kwan, Anita Lee, Helen Lee, Karin Lee, Keith Lock, Pamila Matharu, Christine Miguel, Tan Hoang Nguyen, Midi Onodera, Mieko Ouchi, Alice Shih, Mina Shum, Mary Stephen, Ho Tam, Loretta Todd, Khanhthuan Tran, Phil Tsui, Paul Wong, Su-Anne Yeo, Iris Yudai and Wayne Yung

reel asian: asian canada on screen • elaine chang, ed. • november 2007 • 352 pp. • $29.95 • isbn 1 55245 192 5

Jan Ken Pon! - Feb 23 - 11am

Jan Ken Pon! (Rock Paper Scissors) Family Games Day

Saturday, February 23, 2008, 11am-2pm

Venue: National Nikkei Heritage Centre
6688 Southoaks Crescent (Kingsway & Sperling), Burnaby, BC

Experience over twenty traditional Japanese heritage games and toys at the forth annual Jan Ken Pon! Family Games Day presented by the Japanese Canadian National Museum. Play with colourful tops and a Japanese style cup & ball, make your own sumo wrestlers and beanbags, and run around and burn off some energy. The highlight of the day is a rock-paper-scissors tournament with fun prizes. Old Japanese heritage toys are on display from February 16 till 28th.

This event is suitable for families with children aged 4 to 12.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets $5 per child. Advanced tickets before February 16, $4. Free for adults.
Pre-order your Japanese picnic lunch $5 before February 16th.

Tickets & Information:
National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre
Tel. 604.777.7000 ext 109
nogiwara@nikkeiplace.org
www.nikkeiplace.org/upcomingevents.html

Bombay Black - Feb 21 to Mar 15

“To fall in love, we must fall into the sea. Are you in the mood to do something dangerous?” In present-day Bombay, a beautiful dancer (Anita Majumdar) casts an erotic spell over her clientele until a bewildering stranger (Sanjay Talwar) reveals a secret that jeopardizes their lives. Vancouver-based and nationally renowned writer Anosh Irani weaves realism with magic, searing the
imagination with his captivating tale of seduction, betrayal, and that leap of faith called love.

Arts Club Theatre Company presents
Bombay Black
A Cahoots Theatre Projects production
in association with Nightswimming Theatre
By Anosh Irani

February 21–March 15, 2008
Previews: February 21–February 27
Media opening: February 27
Granville Island Stage

Born and raised in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Anosh Irani moved to Vancouver a decade ago to become a writer. By 2003 his first play, The Matka King, premiered at the Arts Club and was touted by The Vancouver Sun as “black and seductive as the desert night.” Published collectively as The Bombay Plays, Irani’s work was nominated for the 2007 Governor General’s Literary Award for drama, with the jury citing the playwright’s “fierce, funny, and wholly original” voice. His well-received first novel, The Cripple and His Talismans, was soon followed by his second, The Song of Kahunsha, which was selected for the 2007 edition of CBC Radio One’s Canada Reads. His latest theatrical offering, Bombay Black, is the winner of 4 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play.

THIS PRODUCTION CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT

By Anosh Irani. Starring: Deena Aziz, Anita Majumdar, Sanjay Talwar. Director: Brian Quirt. Set and Costume Designer: Camellia Koo. Lighting Designer: Rebecca Picherack. Composer and Sound Designer: Suba Sankaran. Choreographer: Nova Bhattacharya. Stage Manager: Tanya Greve.

WHAT CRITICS SAY
“Sensuous, lyrical, mysterious, sordid, grotesque, romantic and highly emblematic.”—Globe and Mail
"The play unfolds partly as a love story, partly as a study in the oldest of all dramatic subjects, the ethics of revenge. Pungent and lyrical and sometimes witty. Line by line, Irani never hits a false note." —National Post
“Intrigue, betrayal, love and seduction. This month’s most riveting watch on Mumbai’s theatre circuit is Bombay Black.” —Elle Magazine

Co-presented by Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad

The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Bombay Black at the Granville Island Stage (1585 Johnston Street) from February 21 to March 15, 2008 (PREVIEWS: FEBRUARY 21–FEBRUARY 27; MEDIA

OPENING: FEBRUARY 27). Monday at 8 pm, Tuesday at 7:30 pm, Wednesday–Saturday at 8 pm, and Wednesday & Saturday at 2 pm. Tickets are $30–$41 inclusive of taxes and fees, with discounts for students, seniors, and groups. Call the Arts Club Box Office at 604.687.1644 or visit artsclub.com

Vancouver Quickie Premieres at Granville Island - Feb 7 to 16

Can you really know someone in five minutes? And is speed dating a shortcut to happiness, or a slippery slope to heartache? TF Productions, the team that brought the city its first "accidentally Asian" romantic dramedy, Twisting Fortunes—which played to a sold-out house at the Playwrights Theatre Centre on Granville Island last
year—presents The Quickie, a Vancouver-based, contemporary romantic comedy that rips a strip out of speed dating, making whoopee, and cultural collision. In all the wrong places.

The Quickie is the second theatrical production, after 2007's Twisting Fortunes, to be staged after being workshopped at Scripting Aloud, a monthly pan-Asian Canadian scriptreading series active since 2005. A short excerpt from The Quickie will be read live at the Tenth Anniversary Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner event on January 27, 2008 at Floata Chinese Restaurant, 400-180 Keefer Street, downtown Vancouver.

For more information go to www.scriptingaloud.ca/quickie

Performances:
Thurs. Feb. 7, Fri. Feb. 8, Sat. Feb. 9, 8 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 10, 2 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 15, Sat. Feb. 16, 8 p.m.
Venue: Playwrights Theatre Centre
(1398 Cartwright Street), Granville Island
Tickets: $15 at the door,
$13 online via PayPal at www.scriptingaloud.ca/quickie

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! Celebrate the Year of the RAT

Chinese New Year: Gung hay fat choy!

Korean Sol-nal: Say hay boke-mahn he pah du say oh!

Vietnamese Tet: Chuc mung nam moi!

The Lunar New Year is an important time for celebrations and fresh starts for many around the world. The Chinese New Year, Vietnamese New Year (Tet-Tet Nguyen Dan) and Korean New Year (Sol-Nal) are filled with similar customs that date back thousands of years, from honoring ancestors to cleaning house to colorful parades.

The Lunar Calendar is based on the movements of the moon, with each month beginning a new moon. The Lunar New Year starts on the first new moon, generally between January 21-February 19. February 7 is the beginning of the year of the RAT in the year 2008.