Last Sunday, the Nokia Club was packed with fans lined up to see this year’s Verizon’s APAHM tour headliner, Jay Park. Even hours before the concert, the diverse fans–most of them non-Korean–eagerly waited for the former 2pm leader’s first tour in the states.
The crew traveled from East to West hitting up major cities like DC, NYC, San Francisco, and of course, Los Angeles. For the West Coast tour, Jay teamed up with AJ Rafael, a Filipino-American artist with a huge following on Youtube, and Blush, a five-member Pan-Asian pop group. Jay performed selections from his first full length solo album and a mix tape he produced exclusively for the tour for his adoring fans–both in English and Korean.
The tour marked Jay Park’s successful crossover from kpop to the US music scene. It seems mobile companies are increasingly targeting Asian American audiences (AT&T and Wongfu just released a web series). Who do you think should headline next year’s APAHM tour?
Check out our video interview with Jay Park below!
Several Vietnamese organizations were part of the Faces of Asia procession at the Eighth Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration in San Francisco.
With food trucks, cooking demos, a festive parade, two stages of live entertainment, a landmark health awareness presentation, lots of booths to buy both authentic and offbeat Asian-themed merchandise, and much more (Did we mention lots of food?), there was no better place to be for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month than at the Eighth Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration. Held on May 19th in San Francisco’s Civic Center and Little Saigon districts and produced by AsianWeek Foundation, the city’s largest APAHM celebration was a festive and extremely well-rounded event to bring together Asian Pacific American communities and spotlight Asian cultures. Aside from the festival’s yearly offerings of music, dance, culinary delights, arts and crafts, the Faces of Asia cultural procession, and community networking, the 2012 festival broke new ground in bringing cooking demos by celebrity chefs to foodies and in launching the first-ever National Hepatitis Testing Day.
Yes – we’re giving away a number of tickets to our lucky readers to Jay Park’s concert on Sunday, May 27th at Club Nokia in Los Angeles!
Here are some ways to enter:
1. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! Share this contest on your FB wall and Twitter (and tag us!).
2. Leave a comment on this post with your Twitter handle (we’ll contact you there if you win!). This will count as your entry!
For more info about the concert, please visit the Verizon APAHM Tour 2012 site here.
The cast of a special Asian Pacific American production of 'The Vagina Monologues'---performed on May 17th in San Francisco---acknowledged a few individuals at curtain call, including family members, NAPAWF Bay Area, and others who made the production possible. (photo credits: Karen Datangel)
On the topic of sexuality, voices are silenced. Speaking out about sexual desires is considered improper for women and much more alarmingly, speaking out against violence towards women—as survivors of it or as supporters of survivors—is difficult, for the pain and suffering is all too much to relive the ordeals. However, through theater, these stories of women exploring their sexuality and surviving sexual assault, war, and domestic violence can be told boldly and with absolutely nothing held back. Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues goes deep into the varied experiences of the female organ, and performers and activists from the Asian Pacific American community went all out in their recent opportunity to honor the strength and courage of women everywhere, even in the face of adversity.
In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) and V-Day San Francisco co-presented a landmark production of The Vagina Monologues on May 17th at San Francisco’s historic Castro Theater. Under the direction of Gabrielle Patacsil, the all-Asian Pacific American cast of women from different walks of life came together to perform in this very special presentation, the first by the only national, multi-issue Asian and Pacific Islander women’s organization in the country. Proceeds benefited the Bay Area chapter of NAPAWF and V-Day.
For many of the APA women performers, including Connie Chung, who works at the Asian Women’s Shelter in San Francisco, participating in the production was a valuable chance to address taboo issues amongst the community.
“In media and arts and entertainment, Asian-Americans have such a small presence because of the different barriers that don’t allow them to take front stage,” said Chung. “To have a discussion about sexuality and empowerment is so important, so to bring those two together is such a rare opportunity.”
Daughter solicits mother for advice. Hilarity ensues. Courtesy of Lela Lee.
To help celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month — and an upcoming holiday dedicated to Mothers all around, Audrey Magazine brings you our special Mother’s Day feature: Funniest Advice My Mother Has Ever Given Me. Contributor Ada Tseng talks to different folks in the Asian American community about the words of wisdom bestowed to them from their Asian American mothers. Join us as we count down to Mother’s Day – we’ll be revealing new stories every day!
Mothers — with all their earnest, loving intentions — can often be entertaining, and their advice can be an interesting mix of serious, silly, insightful and mind-boggling (sometimes all rolled up into one zinger you can’t wait to share with your friends). In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ve asked fellow Asian American writers and artists to share the funniest advice they’ve ever gotten from their mothers.
Courtesy of BET.com
Mothers — with all their earnest, loving intentions — can often be entertaining, and their advice can be an interesting mix of serious, silly, insightful and mind-boggling (sometimes all rolled up into one zinger you can’t wait to share with your friends). In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ve asked fellow Asian American writers and artists to share the funniest advice they’ve ever gotten from their mothers.
Mothers — with all their earnest, loving intentions — can often be entertaining, and their advice can be an interesting mix of serious, silly, insightful and mind-boggling (sometimes all rolled up into one zinger you can’t wait to share with your friends). In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ve asked fellow Asian American writers and artists to share the funniest advice they’ve ever gotten from their mothers.
Mothers — with all their earnest, loving intentions — can often be entertaining, and their advice can be an interesting mix of serious, silly, insightful and mind-boggling (sometimes all rolled up into one zinger you can’t wait to share with your friends). In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ve asked fellow Asian American writers and artists to share the funniest advice they’ve ever gotten from their mothers.
Damiano’s mother, Sue, late ’70′s.
Butchering the chicken. (credit: Karen Datangel)
Culinary delights are sure things to be celebrated during Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month, and Bay Area foodies rejoiced at the opportunity to learn more about the art of Asian cooking (And satisfy their tastebuds too!) from a local celebrity chef.
As part of Macy’s series of Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month events, the Union Square store in San Francisco welcomed Michelin Star chef James Syhabout to the Cellar Kitchen on May 5th for a cooking demonstration and tasting. A Thailand native who grew up in Oakland, CA, he is the chef and owner of Commis Restaurant and proprietor of Hawker Fare Restaurant, which are also both located in Oakland. Hawker Fare is a Southeast Asian street food joint that Syhabout brought a piece of to his audience, by cooking one of their signature dishes Khao Mun Gai, or Thai-style chicken and rice.
