Pittsburgh Asian American Young Professional Association

PAAYPA promotes community involvement. Whether this means the APA and local community here in Pittsburgh, or our national and global community, PAAYPA strives to contribute to and support community organizations! Please check back often for upcoming events!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007, 7:00pm
5846 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
RSVP/Info: jessicacylee@gmail.com

It's the most wonderful time of the year for friends to gather near! Please join us for our annual holiday dinner. If you wish to take part in the Gift Exchange please bring a gift ($10 limit) to share! Please RSVP by December 17th to Jessica at jessicacylee@gmail.com.

Friday, December 7, 6:00pm
2216 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. (412) 434-1230, www.firehouse-lounge.com
RSVP/Info: jessicacylee@gmail.com

After a long and stressful week at work or school (or both!) come join your fellow Asian American young professionals to de-stress and get ready for the weekend! December 7th @ 6:00pm at Firehouse Lounge (2216 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 434-1230, www.firehouse-lounge.com). RSVP to Jessica at jessicacylee@gmail.com is appreciated but not required. Feel free to bring your friends and get ready to relax, meet some new people, see some old friends, and have a good time!

A NAAAP Pittsburgh tradition revived! Since many of us NAAAP Pittsburgh-ers don't go "home" for Thanksgiving, we wanted to get together and have our own Thanksgiving Dinner! This will be a pot-luck affair, so get cookin' in the kitchen and bring your best dish to share! More information to come… Questions? Contact Jessica at jessicacylee@gmail.com.

Saturday, November 17, 10:30am
4805 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh , PA 15224. (412) 441-8444, attacktheatre.com
RSVP/Info: cycy@steel-dragon.org

Think you may be the next Bruce Lee? Always wondered what kung fu was all about but don't think you're coordinated enough to give Jet Li a run for his money? Well, this is the workshop for you! Come out on November 17th from 10:30am – 12:30pm at Attack Theatre (4805 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, (412) 441-8444, attacktheatre.com) for a Kung Fu Workshop given by Chris Young of Steel Dragon (www.steel-dragon.org)! Be part of this premier interactive workshop where you'll get a basic overview of different kung fu styles and see some martial art demonstrations. Cost is $5.00. You will need bare feet and wear loose clothing. Afterwards, we will all head down the street to Pho Minh ( 4917 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, (412) 661-7443) for lunch! (Lunch cost is on your own.) Invite your friends and get ready to have a good time! To sign up for the workshop, please email Chris at: cycy@steel-dragon.org by November 15th.

(P.S. If you want to see Steel Dragon in action before you come to the Workshop, they are performing during Light Up Night in downtown Pittsburgh on Fri Nov 16th!)

Tuesday, November 13, 6:30pm
5882 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh (Squirrel Hill), PA 15217. (412) 422-7188
RSVP/Info: lluang@paaypa.org

Come join NAAAP Pittsburgh for an evening of good food and friends!

Tuesday, October 30, 6:30pm
Little Asia - 311 S. Craig St., Oakland, Pittsburgh. 412-622-0133
RSVP/Info: lluang@paaypa.org

The first dinner club after our summer hiatus will be in Oakland at Little Asia. All members and friends are invited since we miss all of you! And because Louis is back from Afghanistan and he has not seen a bunch of you since then, he even promises to bring some studly war zone pictures to look at (well, maybe not that studly).

Saturday, March 17th
Carnegie Science Center
Info: Junghwa Oh or 412.401.5745

Come join teenagers from recently immigrated families as we visit the Sports Works exhibit in the Carnegie Science Center. This trip is for teenagers (grade 5 through 12) and we need volunteers to be chaperones as well as help in the activities. This is a great opportunity to help the community while enjoying a great museum!

Please contact Junghwa at (412) 401-5745 or fieldlearning@hotmail.com by March 11 for volunteer instructions and a detailed schedule.

Tuesday, March 20th, 7pm
Mandarin Gourmet, 305 Wood St., Pittsburgh, PA (Downtown)
Info: lluang@paaypa.org

This month's dinner club will be in downtown pittsburgh at the Mandarin Gourmet. Continuing our record of not having repeated a restaurant for almost three years running. Join us to laugh, share, and enjoy the company and food.

Please RSVP by Monday, March 19 to Louis.

May 11-20
Pittsburgh, PA
Info: Andy Ai

The 2nd Annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival will be held in Pittsburgh May 11 - 20, 2007.

We are currently in need of volunteers to:

Help nominate films to be shown in the festival
Help find musicians, bands, singers, artists and performers to perform during the two-week festival and at the GALA event.
Promote the festival within the many Asian communities in
Pittsburgh (spread the word via mailing lists, telephone initiative, e-mail lists, including Ohio, West Virginia, and the surrounding regions.)
ATTEND the Silk Screen Festival to support the wonderful films!
Help with sponsorship and donations
Help with general planning of the festival.
Volunteer at the Gala event and the film screenings (note, last year
volunteers received free tickets to movies, 2 for 1 passes, and a number of other items!)

* Movies must be from 2005 or 2006, not yet released on DVD (if possible), and be on 35 mm film. They should be GOOD Quality films. If you or someone you know is crazy about movies, then please let them know about this great event!

For more information, or to get involved, contact Andy (aai@paaypa.org)

Saturday, March 10th, 11am-1pm
Maridon Museum - 322 North McKean Street, Butler PA
Info: Andy Ai or Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania invites you to attend a private tour of the Maridon Museum.

11 am - 1 pm
Saturday, March 10, 2007
322 North McKean Street,
Butler, PA 16001
phone: 724-282-0123
www.maridon.org

Join us as we discover the only museum in the Western Pennsylvania region with a specific focus on Chinese and Japanese art and culture. The museum is the gift of JASP member, Mary Hulton Phillips and highlights her years of collecting fascinating pieces. Post-Gazette writer, Patricia Lowry pronounced the Maridon a "gleaming little gem". Following a guided tour, JASP members and their guests will enjoy a special Asian style lunch. $15 per person (includes tour and lunch) major credit cards accepted.

Call the JASP office if you would like to car pool.

Registration deadline: March 5, 2007. Contact Andy (aai@paaypa.org) or JASP (jasp@us-japan.org) for registration information.

Tuesday, March 13th, 6:30pm
Cathedral of Learning, Room 501, University of Pittsburgh
Info: Pitt Cultural Studies Program

The Cultural Studies Program at University of Pittsburgh Presents:

Ellis Avery, author
The Teahouse Fire

THE TEAHOUSE FIREexplores the shifting cultural ground of late 19th century Japan through the story of Aurelia, an orphaned American girl taken in by Yukako, the daughter of Kyoto's most important tea master, herself destined to change the fate of the Way of Tea.

"Beneath the beautiful surface of Avery's artfully controlled prose...the novel's essential question is that of desire: By what ceremonies, through what pains and past what obstacles must we endure in order to have not just any life but the one we most want to claim as our own?"
--BuffaloArtvoice

"When she remarks, 'How beautiful, to see something done simply and well,' she could easily be speeaking about The Teahouse Fire, a novel that, like the tea ceremony itself, provides true pleasure to the intellect and all the senses."
--L.A. Times

"Ellis Avery's research included a stay in Kyoto where she studied the tea ceremony, but that alone doesn't account for her perceptiveness about Japan; she's simply a keen cultural observer."
--Japundit

Please join us for a Reading, Q & A and book signing. Light refreshments will be served. Contact cultural@pitt.edu for more info or go to http://www.ellisavery.com/teahousefire.html

Jan to May
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
Info: Bethany Shaw

The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is receiving a traveling exhibit from January through May called Jump to Japan: Discovering Culture through Popular Art.åÊ This exhibit will run from January through May, and they are looking for individuals interested in working with the museum, the kids, and those who would like to share ideas and information.

Some of the event ideas include:

Japanese culture workshops--- demonstrate how to appropriately fold kimonos, hold chopsticks, etc.
Learn how to write names in Japanese
Kammishibai storytelling
Japanese fans, lanterns, dolls
maybe create a Japanese garden

If you are interested in working with the museum, and maybe even speaking to the event attendees, contact Bethany Shaw, Assistant Education Staff Manager (bshaw@pittsburghkids.org) OR (412-322-5058, xt229).

Feb 3 - Apr 7
Frick Art Museum
Info: http://frickart.org/programs/exhibitions/detail/80.html

On February 3, 2007, an exhibition of more than 70 woodblock prints by Japanese artist Tsukioka Kogyo opens at The Frick Art Museum.

Through 2008
Phipps Conservatory, Schenley Park, Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA
Info: Phipps Conservatory

The Tropical Forest Conservatory soars 60-feet in the air and immerses visitors in a tropical paradise of exotic plants and towering trees all within a glass structure designed with environmental sensitivity while using innovative eco-technologies. With its debut focusing on Thailand, visitors will delight in the heady scent of jasmine filling the air, the sound of cascading waterfalls, meandering trails, a canopy overlook, Healer's Hut, rapid streams, calm pools, hidden grottos, and many other interactive areas showcasing the natural beauty and the fascinating culture of Thailand.

* Not a PAAYPA-sponsored event