Arts & Entertainment Calendar A regional roundup of events of special interest to Asian Americans
	In Search of Symmetry (Feature) Thousands Across the Nation Protest INS Special Registration (in National News) First Annual Independent Press Convention To Be Held in San Francisco (in Bay Area News) The Art of Self-Recruiting (in Sports) History in the Making (in A&E) Emil Amok: Shaq's Taunt - Prelude to Hate Crimes? (in Opinion)

Announcements, workshops, and opportunities for community, family and career.

REGIONS:

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Northern California
Southern California
National

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

ANNOUNCEMENTS

UC Extension Now is the time to sign up for one of the over 1,000 courses the UC Berkeley Extension program will be offering this spring. With classes in San Francisco and Berkeley, on topics as diverse as filmmaking, biotechonology, alternative power and remodeling, there’s something for nearly everyone. For more info: 1-888-UC-SMART or www.unex.berkeley.edu.

Pride Parade Marshals Nominations are wide open to the community for the grand marshals of the San Francisco Pride Parade. The theme of this year’s search is “Who gives YOU Hope?” and nominations will be taken until Jan. 31. Remember, last year two grand marshals were APA! For more info:415-864-0831 or www.sfpride.org.

EVENTS

Youth Speaks The young poets and activists of Youth Speaks, San Francisco’s literary nonprofit for teenagers, invite you to Bringing the Noise for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an evening of poetry, slamming and music, benefitting Youth Speaks’ many outreach programs. The event takes place Mon., Jan. 20, 7 p.m. at the Yerba Buena Center Forum, San Francisco. Tickets: $2 – 10. For more info: 415-978-ARTS or www.youthspeaks.org.

Everyone Walks Or at least, everyone should. And more people might if things were arranged a little better. So stroll over to the Walk San Francisco general meeting and get in touch with your own pedestrian power, on Wed., Jan. 29, 5:30 p.m., at SPUR, 312 Sutter St., 5th Floor. For more info: 415-358-5545.

Everyone Drinks (Water) Bring a sample of your home tap water and have it tested for pollutants, including lead, compare results to bottled waters, and evaluate the options, Sat., Jan. 25, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Crissy Field Center, Presidio of San Francisco. Admission: $12. For more info: 415-561-7752.

Bingo for Berkeley The Cal Berkeley Alumni Club will hold a bingo night to support the Oakland Asian Students Education Services high school scholarship program on Fri., Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Elementary School, 225 11th St., Oakland. For more info: www.ocac-board@oases.org.

Not in Our Name Benefit Concert Tickets are on sale now for Not in Our Name’s benefit concert, featuring Ani Difranco and Spearhead, among others, at the Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way, Berkeley on Jan. 31. Volunteers to help staff the concert are also needed. Tickets: $55–80. For more info: 510-594-4076 or www.nionbayarea.net.

LOCAL TO GLOBAL

January 18th for Everyone Embarcadero and Market, San Francisco. 11 a.m. No war. Be there.

January 18th for Activists Get a briefing from the experts at Global Exchange about the Homeland Security Department, and learn how to advise anti-war marchers of their rights and responsibilities. It’s all Jan. 18, 10 a.m. at Art & Revolution, Redstone Building, First Floor, 16th St. and Capp St., San Francisco. For more info: www.globalexchange.org.

Celebrate Labor Write your own freedom song, compose some antiracist poetry, see exhibits celebrating art and work up and down the West Coast, meet labor heroes and hear Utah Phillips, all at the 17th Annual Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival, Jan. 17–19 at Union Hall, 1511 Rollins Rd., Burlingame. For more info: 831-426-4940 or 650-572-8848.

Bike-Aid Get in the saddle and peddle for global justice with Bike-Aid, from San Francisco to Washington D.C. or Mexico, from Seattle to Washington D.C., or just around California. Global Exchange is running the program, tours are forming now, and it’s never to early to get those calves in shape. For more info: 415-575-5544 or www.globalexchange.org.

VOLUNTEERING

Walk for Breast Cancer Breast cancer strikes APA women with disproportionate frequency. Be part of the solution by volunteering at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in June 2003. An organizational meeting for this incredibly organized fundraising event will be held Wed., Jan. 22 at the group’s San Francisco office, 180 Montgomery St., Ste. 2050. For more info: 415-834-0404 x17 or www.avonwalk.org.

Stop Child Abuse Become an advocate for abused children by volunteering as a case aide or speaker with the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Bilingual volunteers are especially needed; all volunteers are fingerprinted and DMV screened. A training session for all prospective volunteers will be held Sat., Jan. 25, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Belmont. For more info: 650-595-7640.

Storyreaders Needed Readers are needed for storytimes at all Oakland Library branches, including readers in Asian languages. Training sessions will be held January 27–29, Feb. 10–12, 15 at the Rockridge Branch Library. For more info: 510-238-7453.

YMCA Chinese New Year Run The YMCA is looking for people of all ages to be course guides, start/finish line administrators and registration staff at the Year of the Ram Chinese New Year Run on Sun., Feb. 9, 6:30 – 10:30 a.m. Free t-shirts and joy to all volunteers. For more info: 415-576-9622 x249 or slouie@ymcasf.org.

WORKSHOPS

Lawyers Everywhere Lawyers will be on hand at the Oakland Public Library to offer free legal assistance and referrals, on Jan. 9,16 and 23, 6 – 8 p.m. at the Main Branch, 125 14th St., on Jan. 21, 6 – 8 p.m. at the Piedmont Avenue Branch, 160 41st St., and on Jan. 23, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Asian Branch, 388 9th St., Ste. 190, with Cantonese and Vietnamese interpretation available. For more info: 510-238-3134.

Become an Artist in Residence! Representatives from Bay Area organizations that sponsor residencies for visual, performing and literary art will discuss how to join the ranks of publicly-minded, publicly-funded artists. Find out for free, Thur., Jan. 16, 5:30 p.m. at ArtHouse, Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room C, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. For more info: 510-444-6351.

Words Flow Like Water Educators are invited to a special poetry workshop focusing on how to help students turn outdoor education experiences into creative poetry. The program will take place Sat., Jan. 18, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Crissy Field Center, the Presidio, San Francisco. Admission: $25. For more info: 415-561-7752.

Chinese Caregiver Assistance Program Free one-on-one, in-home consultations are available for Chinese women who provide regular care to a relative with memory loss and other cognitive impairment, through the Older Adult and Family Center of Stanford University School of Medicine and the Palo Alto VA. Participants will also receive $50 upon completion of each health assessment; enrollment is on-going. For more info: 1-800-943-4333 or www.med.stanford.edu/oac.

Portland’s Classical Chinese Garden Portland comes to San Francisco when the Strybing Arboreum and the California Horticultural Society host Sean Hogan, the designer and horticulturalist of Portland’s classical Chinese garden. The program includes a tour of the Strybing gardens, a no-host dinner, a plant display and a lecture, and begins Mon., Jan. 20, 4 p.m. at the Strybing Botanical Gardens, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Tickets: $5. For more info: 415-661-1316 x354 or www.strybing.org.

Support for Alzheimer’s The Bay Area Alzheimer’s Association sponsors free support groups for those caring for Alzheimer’s sufferers. Groups meet in locations across Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Meteo counties, and participation is free. For more info: 800-660-1993.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

LOCAL TO GLOBAL

Neighbors for Peace and Justice Folks in Studio City interested in working for peace and justice (a show of hands, please), can get organized at the bi-monthly meetings of Studio City Neighbors for Peace and Justice. The new group meets every second and fourth Thursday, 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, Room 9, 12355 Moorpark St. For more info: neighborsteve2002@yahoo.com.

January 18th Southern Californians can join a host of events coinciding with the anti-war protests in San Francisco and Washington D.C. In Yorba Linda, meet at 10 a.m. at Hurless Barton Park, 4601 Casa Loma Ave. to march to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library; in Santa Barbara meet at 11 a.m. on State Street for a rally, panel discussion and childrens’ activities. For more info: 949-436-1188 (Yorba Linda) or 805-962-8840 (Santa Barbara).

VOLUNTEERING

Chinese Lantern Festival The Chinese American Museum needs volunteer storytellers in English and other languages to help make its annual Chinese Lantern Festival a success, by staffing the storytelling booth for half-hour periods during the afternoon. The festival will be held Sat., Feb. 22, 1–7 p.m. For more info: 818-492-5237.

WORKSHOPS

East West Players The most established APA theatre program in Southern California is offering training for experienced APA actors in character exploration and scene analysis. Classes at the East West Players are taught by actors and begin Jan. 25. For more info: 213-625-7000 x28 or www.eastwestplayers.org.

NATIONAL

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Filipino Student Conference Are you a student interested in exploring the Filipino heritage and the Filipino American community? You are invited to the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue’s conference “Explore, Expand, Excel: The Filipino-American Experience,” to be held at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, March 7 – 8. For more info: 202-299-2669 or www.find2003.org.