Some of my favorite things about my blog and the online activism I do are the opportunities that come along for me to advocate for the Asian American community in real life. This month, I'M HOSTING TWO EXCITING EVENTS in the Baltimore area.
THE CHINATOWN COLLECTIVE X CHARM CITY NIGHT MARKET
Saturday, September 22nd, 4-11 pm.
Baltimore City - Park Avenue and Lexington.
I will be emceeing the main stage alongside Danny "Atomic Goofball" Nguyen at this historic event!
The Chinatown Collective amplifies the voices and experiences of Baltimore-based Asian Pacific Islander artists, entrepreneurs, and creatives through community based programming, education and events. Coinciding with the Lunar Mid-Autumn Festival, the first-ever Charm City Night Market will host musical acts, artists, food vendors, storytellers, and cultural ambassadors - all converging on an historic block of Baltimore’s Chinatown.
This epic outdoor block party will connect Lexington Market to Park Avenue, spanning the city’s intertwined communities of color. Bounce between fun, insightful installations and seriously delicious food, while learning something, meeting someone new, and envisioning a future where we all party together late into the night.
Please consider donating. For every lucky $8 donation you make, you will be entered into a raffle for Charm City Night Market swag and 2 tickets to the VIP tent!
Additionally, we have an unique opportunity to bring Ruby Ibarra to Charm City Night Market. Ruby is an emerging Filipina American rap and spoken word artist who's music is infused with her culture, heritage and issues that Asian American immigrants face in United States. If we can raise an additional $3,000 (which will cover her travel expense and incidentals), we will be able to have Ruby perform at the Charm City Night Market in our inaugural year. It would mean the world to have Ruby here on the East Coast and it would be amazing to be able to highlight her music and creative energy in Baltimore. If you're down for the cause, please fill in the notes section that you specifically donating for Ruby Ibarra.
The event runs from 4:00 to 11:00 pm and takes place in the 200 block of Park Avenue. It is free to the public, fantastic for kids and families and no RSVP is required. For information and updates, check out the Charm City Night Market’s Facebook Page.
You can also read more about this event here and here.
THE BALTIMORE BOOK FESTIVAL
Discussion panel: The state of Asian American contemporary fiction post-Crazy Rich Asians.
"The Baltimore Book Festival features hundreds of appearances by local, celebrity and nationally known authors, book signings, more than 100 exhibitors and booksellers, nonstop readings on multiple stages, cooking demos by top chefs, poetry readings, workshops, panel discussions, storytellers and hands-on projects for kids, live music, and a thoughtfully curated food, craft beer, and wine program.
The CityLit Stage features a blend of emerging voices and established authors from around the region, presents some of the area's best on-going reading series, and showcases artists associated with Baltimore's literary journals.
Why is Asian-American literature so weighty and serious? The idea for this discussion panel, which was created, curated and hosted by Eliza Romero, is to unravel through conversation the reason for the dearth of lighthearted, fun and fluffy reads in Asian American literature. Are the stories only appreciated if they’re tragic, weighty stories? According to Eliza Romero, beach reads are considered middlebrow literature but they shouldn't be dismissed. Middlebrow entertainment is the most important genre in creating a cultural baseline. It's why Asian beach reads are so necessary.
For this panel. Eliza will be joined by Keith Chow of The Nerds of Color, Dr. Tamara Bhalla - the director of Asian Studies and professor of Asian Literature at UMBC, Sunny J. Reed - Korean adoptee activist and writer, and Vanessa Ulrich, the Thai American lifestyle blogger behind The Primpy Sheep."
September 29th, CityLit Stage (Inner Harbor waterfront)
1:00 -2:30 PM
Click here for more information about the festival.
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I usually do a write up of the events I’ve organized or hosted and my most-read articles at the end of the year. This was an unusual year (obviously, there is no need to go into it here) so I didn’t bother. Instead I want to highlight a project of mine that I am particularly proud of — it’s my new podcast show, Unverified Accounts, that I cohost with my frequent collaborators, Chris Jesu Lee and Filip Guo. If you're a big movie/TV/book buff, have leftist sympathies, but can't stand 'wokeness' dumbing down our culture, then we're the podcast for you. So far in our 25 episodes, we’ve covered a range of contentious topics.