From a traditional tea ceremony to a dragon dance to civil rights presentations, numerous events are planned at Grand Valley for the Asian Pacific American Heritage Celebration.
Sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, events are
planned from February 8-23. All events are free and open to the
public. Details are below; for more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/oma, or call (616) 331-2217.
- February 8-April 26, Holland Area Arts Council, 150 E. Eighth St. Holland: "Year of the Tiger Exhibit" features art, foods, music from the Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese cultures.
- February 9, 3 p.m., Kirkhof Center, room 0072: Japanese Tea Ceremony, presented by two grand tea masters who will prepare and serve a green tea for participants.
- February 10, 4 p.m., Cook-DeWitt Center: "Walking the Talk of Diversity," by Phoebe Eng. Eng, corporate attorney, author and national lecturer, will discuss cultural fluency and how to enhance communication to develop a better understanding of cultures. The event is also a Professional of Color Lecture.
- February 11, 6 p.m., Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room: Asian New Year Festival, program highlights the richness of Asia through food, fashion, dragon dance and martial arts.
- February 16, 4 p.m., Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room: "Virtual Equality: Mainstreaming Gay and Lesbian Liberation," by Urvashi Vaid. The civil rights activist and attorney will discuss the LGBT political movement and suggest that it is in a state of virtual equality, or seen by many only on the surface.
- February 17, noon, Kirkhof Center, room 2266: Osteoporosis presentation by Dr. Anu Garg, from Spectrum Health. More than one-fifth of Asian American women suffer from osteoporosis; Garg's presentation will inform participants on diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
- February 23, noon, Kirkhof Center, room 1240: "Marriage Equality and LGBT," by Curtis Chin, political activist and movie producer. Chin and his partner were among the 18,000 couples married in California before the passage of Proposal 8. He will discuss this current topic and the recent passage of the anti-discrimination ordinance in Kalamazoo.
- February 23, 4 p.m., Kirkhof Center, room 2204: "Hate Hurts — 'Vincent Who?'" The award-winning documentary that focuses on the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin in Detroit will be shown. Curtis Chin will discuss how this murder was the first time Asian Americans formed a political movement.
