The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) is located at 7th Street and Alamitos Avenue in the East Village Arts District of Long Beach, California. The district lies in the eastern half of downtown Long Beach, within the borders of Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach Boulevard, 10th Street and Alamitos Avenue. The East Village offers an eclectic mix of artist lofts, high-rise condos, and a wide array of cultures, coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants and galleries. A central feature of the Arts District is the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA), which focuses on post-World War II contemporary artists from Latin America.

PIEAM is situated on a triangular piece of land bordered by 7th Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, and Alamitos Avenue; it is, appropriately, an island. The mural design on the exterior of the PIEAM building, created by Long Beach native and famed muralist Art Mortimer, recreates a traditional Men’s House from the Island of Yap, one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia. Mortimer’s impressive resume and long history in painting murals throughout Southern California made him the obvious choice for this project. Many of his murals can be seen at www.artmortimer.com.

The museum also showcases the diverse cultures from the Pacific who call this area home, including the Marshallese, Samoans, Chamorro, Fijian, Carolinian, Tongan, Micronesian, Hawaiian, the Ni-Vanuatu, Niuean, Tuvauluan, Maori, Polynesian, Papuan, Austronesian, Nauruan, Melanesian, Palauan, the I-Kiribati and many more distinct nationalities.

PIEAM’s mission is to generate interest in these diverse cultures and educate its varied audiences by bringing the beauty and culture of Pacific Island ethnic art to Southern California. PIEAM stays true to the heritage of the Pacific Islands, highlighting all forms of Pacific Island ethnic art.

This weekend Saturday, January 28, 2012 and Sunday, January 29, 2012 will be the 113th Golden Dragon Parade: Sat, Jan 28th 1pm-4pm (commencing at Hill and Ord Streets and concluding at Broadway and Cesar Chavez). Grand Marshals are Disney’s Mulan and Mushu and international bestselling author Lisa See. Honorary Grand Marshals include David Lee, Collin Lai and James B. Wong. For Parade information, contact the Chinese Chamber of Commerce at (213) 617-0396.

Chinese New Year Festival
Central Plaza & West Plaza
943-951 N. Broadway
Saturday, Jan 28: 12pm-8pm
Sunday, Jan 29: 12pm-5pm
(213) 680-0243
FREE to the public

STREET CLOSURES
Saturday, January 28th, starting 11am to 12:00 noon
• Ord Street from North Broadway to Hill Street
• Cesar Chavez Avenue from North Broadway to Main Street
• North Broadway from Bernard Street to Cesar Chavez Street
• Bernard Street from North Broadway to Hill Street
• Hill Street from Bernard Street to Temple Street
• Spring Street from Cesar Chavez to Temple Street

Celebrate the weekend’s festivities with us by taking METROLINK! METROLINK is offering a $10 special weekend pass. Bring your pass to the Information booth at the festival site and receive a special something from us for supporting public transportation and METROLINK.

The weekend gets an early start on Friday with a Sushi-Sake tasting event presented by Patina Restaurant Group. Enjoy the flavors of Japan and sample delectable sushi prepared by Chef Travis Kamiyami paired with amazing sake. $75 per person. Reservations required: (818) 790-3663. In the Courtyard.

Always a crowd favorite, the taiko drummers will perform at noon both Saturday and Sunday in the Under the Oaks Theater.

Yami Yamauchi will create origami on a grand scale at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. Using an 8-foot square of paper, he will demonstrate the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. Want to try it out yourself? Origami lessons will be offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Minka. Yami will teach young and old to create beautiful folded paper flowers.

On Sunday, witness a Japanese tea ceremony in the Minka. The ceremony will be performed at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Seating is limited. Order early – this popular event will sell out. Tickets, priced at $10, will go on sale October 1 at Ticketweb.com.  www.descansogardens.org

For more information on Tina’s Port of Paradise and the festival, vistit their FB page or call (805) 985-1683 or email tinasportofparadise@yahoo.com

Aloha Hula Dance Studio had the wonderful opportunity to perform at the first annual Villiage of Polynesian during the Simi Valley Days Music Festival.  Groups as far as Oxnard came out to perform and enjoy all the weekend festivities.

Aunty Dorothy Ae and her talented team organized this much needed Polynesian event.  Mahalo to Aunty Dorothy and everyone who donated their time and talent to make the Villiage of Polynesia a reality.  We hope to celebrate with them next year as well.

Aloha Hula Polynesian Dance Studio is the only one of it’s kind in the San Fernando Valley. It’s Director, Lyn-del Pedersen has been in Granada Hills since 2007 first teaching in her home studio, then to their first location for a year, and recently moving to new studio still in Granada Hills.  Lyn-del teaches hula and tahitian.  Student range in age from 4 years old to 72 years young.  For more info visit www.aloha-hulastudio.com For ho’ike tickets, contact alohahulaticketsales@gmail.com. 5pm is sold out, but there are a few 1pm tickets available.

We invite you to come back to the Festival, and bring new friends and family members to the beautiful seaside park Pt. Fermin, and enjoy the entertainment, food, marketplace and FUN for the whole family. If this will be your first time, welcome! Tuloy po kayong lahat!

FPAC is the largest and longest running annual Filipino tradition in Southern California -
…85 exhibitors…
…450 volunteers…
…1,200 artists…
and over 25,000 guests keep FPAC alive year after year. It is you, the community, who have supported this celebration, make it all possible.

This year’s theme is katutubong landas tungo masaganang bukas – “native ways toward a prosperous future.”

It is our native ways, our traditions, that anchor our community. It is also through our native ways, our human experiences, that we find common threads that interweave the diverse communities that make up our landscape. Whether we refer to “community” as the youth, the various groups that make up Los Angeles, or the community of Pilipinos worldwide, it is our native ways – of song, of dance, of art, of cuisine, of cultivating the earth – that we pass on to future generations, to continue to ensure a prosperous future.

Visit www.filamarts.org now. The festival runs from Sept 6-7m 2008. Admission at the door is $7.  Bring your sunscreen, folding chairs and enjoy the whole day!

 

This story follows Heaven, who at six months old, was the sole survivor of a deadly plane crash. The Press had named her Heaven, because it seemed that she fell from the sky. Soon after, she was adopted by the powerful Kogo Family and lived a very privileged life. But then, 19 years later, things take an unexpected turn, when her wedding is attacked and her brother, Hiko, is killed trying to save her, not before warning her that the Yakuza have infiltrated her family. So she breaks free from her family and begins training to be a samurai and fight back against the Yakuza.

I am looking forward to watching this mini-series and hope that it is a sign of the times. We rarely see Asian-Pacific Islander (API) faces on prime time television and this can only lead to more opportunities for API actors/actresses.  I am however a little ambivalent that the faces are being portrayed in this type of story line.   There is more to the culture and history of Japan then just a Samurai saga. It makes me wonder if the entertainment industry believes American audiences will only watch API faces wield a samurai sword in order to keep their interest. 

I hope that this main stream format inspires more people to educate themselves about the culture and may they find a new appreciation and respect for the country as well as the people of Japan. 

Samurai Girl is a six-hour mini-series set to air over a three-day weekend on ABC Family beginning on September 5, 2008. The event, which is based on the popular young-adult novel series will star Jamie Chung, Brendan Fehr, and Stacy Keibler. The premise is based on a series of fictional books written by Carrie Asai.

(pic above posted at www.seat42F.com, Samurai Girl cast at 2008 Comic Con in San Diego, CA)