To update information or submit an event, email ACTA.
Rustic Splendors: Kiln Treasures From Shiwan
Through March 2006
Pacific Heritage Museum
608 Commercial Street
San Francisco, CA
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco and the Pacific Heritage Museum will cosponsor Rustic Splendors: Kiln Treasures from Shiwan. This exhibit of Chinese ceramics will feature one hundred forty one pieces, on loan from nineteen Bay Area collectors, ranging from the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) to the present.
For more information call the Chinese Culture Center at (415) 986-1822 or visit the center’s website.
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On the Red Road
Through March 2006
Marin Museum of the American Indian
Miwok Park
2200 Novato Blvd.
Novato, CA
This exhibit is a photographic essay depicting the cultural expression of America's first people. Over sixty color photographs grace the wall with dancers and family portraits. Beaded moccasins, purses, and eagle headdress from the late 1880's compliment the photographic display.
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
For more information visit the museum’s website.
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Serving the Lwas: Vodou Gods of Haiti
Through March 19, 2006
Craft and Folk Art Museum
5814 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA
Vodou (Voodoo), is a widely practiced religion in Haiti that combines
elements of Yoruba-based African traditions with New World Catholicism.
It is also the source of much of the island's rich artistic productivity.
Widely misunderstood and sensationalized in the media, Vodou inspires
and empowers its practioners who most commonly refer to it as serving
the lwas - or Vodou deities.
Contemporary Vodou flags, metal sculptures, photography and work on
canvas are exhibited. Featured artists include: J.B. Jean Joseph, Sylva
Joseph, Georges Vilris, Jose Delpe, Joseph Libernier, Georges Liatuad,
Pascal Giacomini, Jude Thegenus and Edouard Duval-Carrie.
Admission: $5
Museum Hours: Wednesday through Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
For more information visit
the Craft and Folk Art Museum’s website.
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Dragons, Drums, Firecrackers, and Floats: A Chinese American
Tradition
Through March 19, 2006
The Chinese Historical Society of America
965 Clay Street
San Francisco, CA
One of the largest parades in the world, San Francisco’s Chinese New Year
Parade is also one of the oldest in the nation – a uniquely Chinese
American celebration with roots in old Chinese traditions.
Designed to attract tourism and business to Chinatown, the parade and
the larger Chinese New Year festival draw participants from around
the country. Using photographs, memorabilia, and props, the exhibit
traces the historic and cultural roots of the parade and provides a “behind the scenes” look
at this event. The items and artifacts document the history of a community
celebration that represents the strong bond between San Francisco and
its Chinese American identity and population.
Admission: $3
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm;
Saturday and Sunday 12:00pm – 4:00pm
For more information visit
the Chinese Historical Society of America’s
website.
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Modern Mode: Kimono for Japan’s New Woman
Through April 1, 2006
The Ruth & Sherman
Lee Institute for Japanese Art
15770 Tenth Avenue
Hanford, CA
The term kimono (literally, thing to wear) came into use at the dawn
of Japan’s modern age. During the Meiji Restoration, Japan was
open to foreign trade and participated in World Expositions held in
Europe and the United States. Japanese men and women began to adopt
Western fashion and the word kimono came into use in order to distinguish
indigenous dress from Western-style clothing (yôfuku). Both Japan
and the West were greatly influenced by the cross-cultural fertilization
that took place during the Meiji and Taishô (1912-1926) periods.
Japanese art and design inspired the art nouveau movement in Europe
and America while Western technology, especially synthetic dye and
textile manufacturing techniques, contributed to the development of
Japan as a major exporter of silk thread and textiles.
The kimonos exhibited in Modern Mode are made from a type of silk
plain-weave fabric known as meisen that owes much of its existence
to Western technology. Meisen is a commercial term used to describe
a textile of inexpensive machine-reeled silk thread and colored with
synthetic dyes that was developed in the 1880s. Western dye technology
adapted to traditional Japanese dye methods resulted in new, cost-effective
techniques and dazzling, multicolored pictorial designs resembling
paintings. Both traditional and Western-inspired motifs decorated the
affordable meisen kimono worn by the upper and middle classes as everyday
wear and by the working-class, such as the increasing number of women
who worked in the new textile mills, as formal attire. These vibrant
meisen kimonos reflect the stimulating changes that occurred in the
lives of women living in a modern Japan.
Admission: $5
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
For more information visit
The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art website.
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A Chocó house, Darién, Panama, in the 1950s.
Photograph from the William and Evelyn Phillips Collection.
Passage to Panama: Past to Present
Through April 2, 2006
San Diego Museum of Man
Balboa Park
1350 El Prado
San Diego, CA
Curated by Grace Johnson, Passage to Panama: Past to Present is based on the research, collections, and photographs of William and Evelyn Phillips taken in the 1950s. This exhibit describes the lives and culture of the Guaymí peoples of the mountains of Chiriquí and Veraguas and the Chocó peoples of the Darién in the 1950s.
The Chocó, currently known as the Wounaan/Embera people, live along the rivers in the Darién region of Panama. This exhibit centers on their environment and their daily life, including rituals and healing. The Museum's collection of baskets highlights Chocó culture, which is further detailed through displays of wooden bowls, hunting and fishing implements, traditional dress and jewelry, and carved wooden staffs.
The lives of the Guaymí, presently known as the Ngöbe, are recounted through their daily lives by looking closely at objects they use in their households, such as gourds and woven hats, as well as musical instruments associated with the balsaría ceremony. The exhibit also looks at how these indigenous groups are affected by other cultures by considering their art and economy, and examining the wide range of contemporary baskets, jewelry, and woodcarvings made for sale.
Photographs taken by Dr. Julie Velasquez-Runk and Dr. Philip Young between 1997 and 2004 give a sense of the current life of indigenous peoples of the Darién. Contemporary photographs of Panama and historic and contemporary images of the Panama Canal illustrate life in Panama as it is today.
Admission: $6
Museum Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily
For more information visit the museum’s website.
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Inside Lunar New Year: Auspicious Food and Decoration
Through April 2006
Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Pacific Renaissance Plaza
388 9th Street Suite 290
Oakland, CA
The exhibition provides an educational exploration of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures for the Lunar New Year celebration. The exhibit will display the meaning of symbols and colors, explain various activities people engage in during the Lunar New Year, and share the history behind auspicious foods and decorative family traditions.
Admission: Free
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
For more information visit the Oakland Asian Cultural Center’s website.
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¡Carnaval!
Through April 23, 2006
Fowler Museum of Cultural History
UCLA Campus
Hilgard and Strathmore Avenues
Los Angeles, CA
This exhibit explores the revelry of Carnival festivals as they are enacted today in eight different geographic and cultural regions. This lavish exhibition presents approximately fifty elaborate costumes and numerous masks reflecting a range of masquerade and performance themes that represent traditions in these sites: Laza, Spain; Venice, Italy; Basel, Switzerland; Oruro, Bolivia; Tlaxcala, Mexico; Recife/Olinda, Brazil; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and New Orleans. These unique celebrations and rituals are brought to life through photographic murals and short video programs of recent Carnival festivities in these locales, allowing visitors to explore the history and evolution and experience the sights and sounds of this vital celebration.
Admission: Free
For more information visit the museum’s website.
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Carnival in Europe and the Americas
Through April 23, 2006
Fowler Museum of Cultural History
UCLA Campus
Hilgard and Strathmore Avenues
Los Angeles, CA
Photographs by Robert Jerome feature contrasting Carnaval celebrations around the world from the Black Forest to the Canary Islands to Mobile, Alabama and many spots in between.
Admission: Free
For more information visit the Fowler Museum of Cultural History’s website.
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The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama
Through May 14, 2006
San Diego Museum of Man
Balboa Park
1350 El Prado
San Diego, CA
The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama is a major traveling exhibition that presents a view of the Kuna culture as seen through its expressive arts: the Kuna's central concern for form and beauty in everyday life, narratives, rituals, healing, and visual arts such as Kuna women's molas (textiles). The Kuna people live on the San Blas islands and Atlantic coastline of Panama. The exhibit showcases Kuna culture through a wide range of objects including baskets, wooden objects, molas, and gold jewelry. Large-scale photo panels with supportive descriptive panels and visual documentation, depicted in an environment suggestive of a Kuna village and video stations add depth to the presentation.
Admission: $6
Museum Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily
For more information visit the museum’s website.
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Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest
and Southwest
March 31, 2006 through August 20, 2006
Southwest Museum of the American
Indian
Mt. Washington Campus
234 Museum Drive
Los Angeles, CA
This landmark exhibition comes to the Autry National Center from the
American Museum of Natural History, New York. Totems to Turquoise celebrates
the beauty, power, and symbolism of modern Native American jewelry
arts, focusing on the cultural similarities and differences of the
Northwest and Southwest, the role of tribal and individual identity
in design, and how artists incorporate images from their physical landscape
into their work. More than 500 objects, including dazzling contemporary
and historic Native American jewelry and artifacts, illustrate how
techniques, materials, and styles have evolved as Native American jewelers
have adapted to technical, societal, and commercial changes, transforming
traditional craft into a full—fledged mode of artistic expression.
Admission: $7.50
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For more information visit
the Autry National Center’s website.
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Norway –Art of the Land and the People
Mingei International
Balboa Park
El Prado and the Plaza de Panama
San Diego, CA
This exhibit celebrates 100 years of Norwegian independence. On display are arts of daily life including metalwork, jewelry, festival costumes (bunads), textiles, rosemaling-decorated pottery and furniture, and a group of Norwegian-American immigrant chests from the 18th century. A substantial group of objects are on loan from the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in Decorah, Iowa. Many others are from private San Diego collections.
Bunads, or festival dress, uniquely designed to represent their districts, are worn by both men and women on ceremonial occasions. Distinct from folk dress, but often inspired by traditional designs, bunads were first made in the 19th century. They are characterized by hand-woven textiles, elaborate embroidery and silver buttons and jewelry.
Rosemaling, or rose painting, flourished in rural Norway between the beginning of the 18th century and the last quarter of the 19th century. Based on foliage and flower motifs from the Renaissance and Baroque Periods found in the towns, rosemaling decorated rural pottery, furniture and interiors. As with bunads, styles of rosemaling varied from district to district.
Wood carving in Norway includes the chip technique (karveskurd), identified by its geometric patterns, and a low relief technique (flateskurd), emphasizing vine tendrils and leaves. After the building of the Cathedral of Oslo in 1699, in which the acanthus leaf with its vine tendril was a new decorative motif, a typically Norwegian motif emerged combining the acanthus and tendril with flowers, angels and Biblical scenes.
Admission: $6
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
For more information visit the museum’s website.
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March
Oakland Asian Cultural Center Cook-Off
March 1, 2006
6:00 p.m.
Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th St.
Oakland, CA
The Oakland Asian Cultural Center is celebrating 10 years of multicultural
programming with an interactive fundraiser featuring culinary talent
from within local communities. Dishes based on the theme of
rice have been entered into the competition and the public is invited
to decide which chef will take home the People’s Choice Award. Celebrity
chefs from the Asian Chefs Association will also make their top picks.
Admission: $50
For more information visit
the Oakland Asian Cultural Center’s
website.
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South Indian Classical Music Concert
March 4, 2006 – 8:00 p.m.
Herrick Chapel
Occidental College
Alumni Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
The Music Circle presents a concert of South
Indian Carnatic music with Shashank on flute, Purbayan Chatterjee,
a student of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, on sitar, and Satish Kumar on mrdangam.
Admission: $25
For more information visit
the Music Circle’s website.
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Food of Fire: Paniolo Style
March 4, 2006
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Museum of the American West
Griffith Park
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA
Participants can taste Hawaiian style cowboy cuisine, as they explore
the rich history of the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy). Dr. Billy
Bergin, president of the Paniolo Preservation Society; paniolo cook
Walter "Lucky" Puhi; Paniolo Hall of Fame member Robert Kamuela "Sonny" Keakealani;
and Dr. Stephen Aron, executive director of the Institute for the Study
of the American West will discuss Hawaiian cowboy culture and food.
For more information visit
the Museum of the American West’s
website.
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Fandango Jarocho
March 4, 2006
7:30 pm
Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center
13108 San Pablo Ave.
San Pablo, CA
Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center will host
a Fandango Jarocho featuring folk music and dance in the tradition
of Veracruz, Mexico. Food
and beverages will be available.
Admission: Free
For more information (510) 233-8015 or visit
Los Cenzontles’ website.
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The 126th Bok Kai Festival
March 4-5, 2006
Marysville Chinatown
Marysville, CA
The Bok Kai Festival, honoring Bok Eye, the Chinese God of Water,
pays tribute to the many Chinese who worked the gold mines in the 1800s.
The rare Bok Kai Temple, recently listed by the National Trust for
Historic Preservation as one of the country's 11 Most Endangered Historic
Places, came to be a symbol of gratitude and hope for the Chinese who
had left their homeland with hopes for a better life in America. The
activities will include lectures by many top Chinese historians and
community members.
Bomb Day activities are scheduled for Sunday, March 5th. To conclude
the event 100 handmade ceremonial "bombs" will be tossed
into the air followed by a mad dash for the lucky rings contained inside
the individual bombs. This colorful activity, known as "The Firing
of the Bombs," is punctuated by the vivid snapping and popping
of fireworks. This event is open for public viewing only.
For more information visit
the festival’s website.
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21st Annual Jewish Music Festival
March 4 – 26, 2006
Various San Francisco Bay Area locations
This 21st Jewish music festival celebrates Jewish music with concerts
throughout the Bay Area. Featured performers include New Orleans
Klezmer All-Stars, cantors Alberto Mizrahi and Jack Mendelsohn, Beyle
Schaechter-Gottesman, Yiddish songwriter, singer, poet and recipient
of the 2005 NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, and Yair Dalal,
a former artistic mentor in ACTA’s
Folk and Traditional Arts Mentorship Initiative.
For more information visit
the Berkeley Jewish Community Center’s
website.
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Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
March 9, 2006
CSU Monterey Bay World Theater
100 Campus Center
Seaside, CA
Dressed in ornate costumes of flowing, colorful fabrics and silver
jewelry, the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble uses the vocabulary of movement
to tell stories based on ancient myths, folk tales, and love ballads.
Direct from the outskirts of Bangalore in southern India, this ensemble
transports viewers to worlds of magic and spirituality through Odissi,
the oldest of India’s seven classical
dance forms.
For more information 831- 582-4580 or visit
Monterey’s
online cultural calendar.
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Masters of Persian Music – Shajarian, Alizadeh, and
Kalhor
March 9, 2006 – 8:00 p.m.
Mandeville Auditorium
UC San Diego Campus
9500 Gilman Dr.
La Jolla, CA
Mohammed Reza Shajarian, a master of Persian traditional singing earned
a Grammy nomination for Best World Music in 2004. His son, Homayoun
Shajarian, makes his debut on this tour. He has studied Avaz,
a particular Persian vocal style, with his father, and is an accomplished tombak and daf (Persian
drums) player. Kayhan Kalhor began playing for the National Orchestra
of Radio and Television at age 13. He plays the kamancheh,
a stringed instrument with a sound similar to the violin, but he is
also known for his compositions, many of which have been performed
by Shajarian. Previous works have earned him two Grammy nominations.
Hossein Alizadeh, a former conductor for the Iranian National Orchestra
of Radio and Television, is also a professor at the University of Tehran
and the Tehran Music Conservatory. He is best known for his ability
with the tar, a plucked stringed instrument fitted into the
body of a gourd.
Admission: $32 - $36
For more information visit
the San Diego Union-Tribune entertainment guide.
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Diamano Coura’s 11th Annual Collage des Cultures
Africaines
March 9 – 12, 2006
Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
1428 Alice Street
Oakland, CA
Diamano Coura West African Dance Company will present four days of
intense workshops in African dance, music, history, craft, and a panel
discussion on Certification for African arts. It will also present
two concerts on Friday and Saturday March 10th and 11th at 8:00 p.m.
which will include performances by Dimensions Dance Theater, Diamano
Coura West African Dance Company, Fua Dia Congo, African Queens, Imhotep,
Fogo Na Roupa, Julia Chigamba, Savage Jazz, and many more.
To view a detailed workshop schedule and list of instructors and guest
artists visit
Diamono Coura’s website.
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The Bulgarian Women’s Choir
March 11, 2006 – 8:00 p.m.
Center Arts
1 Harpst Street,
Arcata, CA
In its first U.S. tour in seven years, The Bulgarian
Women’s
Choir presents traditional harmonies and costumes.
For more information visit
Humboldt State University’s Center
Arts website.
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36th Annual Powwow Celebration: Remembering Traditions – The
Foundation of Our People
March 11-12, 2006
California State University Long Beach
Upper Campus
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA
This event features intertribal and competition dancing, food, vendors,
traditional and contemporary art.
For more information call (562) 985-4963 or e-mail csulb_powwow@hotmail.com.
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Calaveras Celtic Faire
March 11 – 12, 2006
Frogtown Fairgrounds
Gun Club Road
Angels Camp, CA
This event features Irish step dancers, Highland dancers, a gathering
of family Clans, and musical performances by the Wicked Tinkers, the
Fresno Stag and Thistle Pipe Band, the Black Brothers and many others.
Admission: $20
For more information visit
the event’s website.
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Alasdair Fraser with Natalie Hass
March 17, 2006
8:00 p.m.
Center Arts
1 Harpst Street
Arcata, CA
Scottish
fiddler Alasdair Fraser presents the music of his homeland in this
special St. Patrick’s Day concert, linking bows with
young cellist Natalie Haas. This duo has created a major buzz among
Celtic music lovers and has been featured on nationally broadcast radio
programs, including Thistle and Shamrock and Mountain Stage.
For more
information visit
Humboldt State’s Center Arts website.
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A Festival of World Music
March 17, 2006
8:00 p.m.
900 University Avenue
Riverside, CA
This festival features music of Java, the Phillippines, and Japanese
America with UC Riverside Rondalla Ensemble directed by Tagumpay de
Leon, UC Riverside Taiko Ensemble with director Reverend Shuichi Thomas
Kurai, and UC Riverside Gamelan Ensemble with director René T.A.
Lysloff.
Admission: $10
For more information visit
the Inland Arts website.
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Taking It to the Streets: Spectacle and Satire in the Arts
and Antics of Carnival
March 18, 2006
9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Fowler Museum of Cultural History
UCLA Campus
Hilgard and Strathmore Avenues
Los Angeles, CA
Scholars and artists explore how individuals and communities have “taken
it to the streets” to satirize their world in an expressive fusion of revelry
and rebellion. Morning presentations examine the roots of European Carnival and
its migration to sites around the world with a keynote by Carnival scholar Samuel
Kinser and lecture by Peter Tokofsky. As the day unfolds, Carnival arrives in
the Americas with a bang and afternoon speakers discuss performances that address
gender, national identities, and race in locations in Brazil, the U.S., Bolivia,
and the Caribbean. Scholars Gage Averill, Thomas Abercrombie, and Joyce Jackson
address the aural side of chaos and rebellion while photographers Jeffrey Chock
and Nash Porter and scholar Pamela Franco look at issues of gender and spectacle
in Brazil, Trinidad and New Orleans. Professor Donald Cosentino wraps up with
closing thoughts.
Co-sponsored by UCLA’s Departments of Ethnomusicology and World
Arts and Cultures and Latin American Center.
For more information visit
the Fowler Museum’s website.
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Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu
March 18, 2006
2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Zellerbach Hall
UC Berkeley Campus
Berkeley, CA
San Francisco-based Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, a recipient
of ACTA’s
Living Cultures grant,
features hula as a fully theatrical and visually captivating experience,
blending traditional and contemporary forms of Hawaiian dance. The
group's trademark hula mua style honors tradition while bringing
hula into a modern realm, and performances are given in a "talk-story" format
that incorporates narration to provide a rich cultural context in which
to understand the hula. Following the matinee performance their
will be a discussion with artistic director Patrick Makuakäne
Admission: $20 – $32
For more information visit
the Cal Performances website.
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Colcannon
March 18, 2006
7:30 p.m.
Encino Community Center
4935 Balboa Blvd.
Encino, CA
The California Traditional Music Society hosts a St. Patrick day family
celebration with Colcannon. Colcannon has developed a distinctive,
inventive, and contemporary musical style while still keeping in firm
touch with the heart and essence of traditional Irish music.
Admission: $15 - 30
For more information visit
the California Traditional Music Society’s
website.
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West Coast Blues Hall of Fame & Awards Show
March 18, 2006
7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Scottish Rite Center
1547 Lakeside Drive
Oakland, CA
This event supports the Bay Area Blues Society’s ongoing programs,
notably, the “Blues in the Schools” Program which uses
local blues musicians to teach the history of the
Blues to young students and provide instruction on the playing of musical
instruments.
The West Coast Blues Hall of Fame & Awards Show, an annual event,
honors blues,
Jazz, and gospel artists for their contributions to the art form called
Blues. Ten extraordinary artists will be inducted into the West Coast
Blues Hall of Fame and the Bob Geddins Lifetime Achievement Award will
be presented to the artist who has most influenced a generation of
musicians. General Category Awards will be given to the best blues
singer of the year, blues guitar of the year, blues drummer of the
year, and many others. This year’s show will induct such notables
as drummer, Earl Watkins, Ruthie’s Inn Blues Club, Maxine Howard,
Billy Barnes, Heartfield Brothers, The Right Kind, Hollywood Fats,
Piney Clark, Bill Quarry, Martin Land Company and Richard Freeman,
and many others.
Admission: $20
For more information visit
the Bay Area Blues Society’s website.
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Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose
March 18 , 2006 – 6:00 p.m.
March 19, 2006 – 4:00 p.m.
Louis B. Meyer Theater
University of Santa Clara
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA
Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose presents two performances, the
Next Generation Concert and Multi-Splendored Ramayana concert featuring
solo performances by Rasika Kumar and Preeti Vissa, and special presentations
by Mythili Kumar and Sharada Sripadam. Asha Ramesh, a former
master in ACTA’s
Apprenticeship Program, will accompany the dance performances
on vocals.
Admission: $15
For more information visit
Abhinaya Dance Company’s website.
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7th Biennial Language is Life Conference for California Indian
Languages
March 24 – 26, 2006
Marin Headlands Institute
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Sausalito, CA
Participants are invited to join with other California Indians trying
to learn or re-learn, teach, document, research, or otherwise invigorate
their Native languages.
Members of Language Programs are urged to come and talk about their
projects, share successes and problems, and gather with other Native
people who believe that language renewal is the cornerstone to cultural
survival.
This years conference will address:
- Language program updates
- Teaching methods workshop
- Intellectual property right
- Technology workshops
- Workshop on new writing systems
- Workshop on language revitalization at home
- Organizations working on language revitalization
- Language and cultural work with California Native prisoners
This conference is produced by the Advocates for Indigenous California
Language Survival, a
recipient of ACTA’s Living Cultures Grant.
For more information visit
the Advocates for Indigenous Language Survival’s
website.
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7th Annual Southern California Indian Storytelling Festival
March 25, 2006
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
219 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA
The California Indian Storytelling Association (CISA) and the Agua
Caliente Cultural Center present native storytellers from California
and Hawaii who will showcase storytelling presentations and performances
based on indigenous oral traditions and language. This year's event
will also include children's activities, basket weaving circles, children's
story time, and Native American vendors. This festival is made possible
by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Agua Caliente
Cultural Museum, the California Indian Storytelling Association, and
audience donations.
For more information visit
the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum’s
website.
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Ishi in the San Francisco Bay Area
March 25, 2006
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
California Academy of Sciences
875 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA
Anthropologist Richard Burrill has spent much of his life conducting
research and writing books on the life of Ishi, believed to be the
last survivor of the Yahi tribe of California Indians. The focus of
the seminar will be Ishi's "second world" -- the years he
spent in the Bay Area (1911-16).
In 1911, Ishi wandered out the wilderness area near Mt. Lassen, where
he was living essentially a Stone Age existence. His sudden appearance
in Oroville stunned the country: his tribe was considered extinct,
after the bloody massacres of the 1860s and 70s. Ishi had been in hiding
for over forty years - the last of his tribe.
Dr. Alfred Kroeber, the first Curator of Anthropology at the California
Academy of Sciences, brought Ishi to San Francisco to assist in documenting
Yahi Indian traditions. Ishi adapted to life in the City and made his
second home inside the University of California's Museum of Anthropology
on Parnassus Avenue, where Dr. Kroeber had become Head Curator after
leaving the Academy. Ishi spent the rest of his life in San Francisco;
he died there on March 25th 1916 from tuberculosis. Coincidentally,
Burrill's seminar marks the ninetieth anniversary of Ishi's death.
Seminar Description
Richard Burrill will share his latest findings on Ishi's experiences
in the Bay Area, based on years of research with archival sources and
first-hand accounts. At the seminar, participants will meet honored
guests whose families knew Ishi, hear excerpts from sound recordings
of Ishi's stories and songs, in the Yahi language, plus segments from
several documentary films. Throughout, Burrill will share many of his
anecdotes about Ishi. Richard Burrill’s books will be available
for purchase, with book signings.
This seminar is Part One of a two-day program on Ishi. Part Two, on
Sunday, March 26th, 2006, is an optional all-day Ishi bus tour visiting
local places of significance to Ishi. Click
here for bus tour details.
Admission: $25
For more information visit
the California Academy of Sciences website.
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Radio Bilingüe’s 24th Annual ¡Viva el Mariachi!
Festival & Workshops
Mariachi Workshops
Saturday, March 25, 2006
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Abraham Lincoln Middle School
1239 Nelson Blvd.
Selma, CA
The annual ¡Viva el Mariachi! Festival Workshops is an opportunity
for students of mariachi music to learn new skills and techniques from
professional mariachi musicians. The workshops, open to ages 10 and
up, offer instruction for beginners, intermediate and advanced musicians
on traditional instruments – violin, vihuela, guitar, guitarrón,
and trumpet. Instruction is also offered to students of voice.
Advanced instruments will be taught by El Gran Maestro Nati Cano
and his Mariachi Los Camperos. Intermediate instruments will be taught by Maraichi Mujer
2000. Voice and beginning instruments will be taught by Juan Morales and
Mariachi Tenochtitlán.
Registration is required. The early registration fee of $40 is valid through
February 10, 2006. After that, the registration fee increases to $60 through
March 10, 2006. From March 11 through March 25, 2006, fees increase to
$80. Workshop registration fees include one day of instruction, sheet music,
and admission to the festival the following day. Also, all students may
participate in the Festival program. Class size is limited, so register
early! An optional hot lunch may be purchased for $6.00.
For more information, visit
Radio Bilingüe’s website or call (559) 455-5777.
Mariachi Festival
Sunday, March 26, 2006
12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Selland Arena
Ventura & M Streets
Fresno, CA
Radio Bilingüe’s 24th Annual ¡Viva el Mariachi Festival!
features Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Los Camperos de Nati
Cano, Mariachi Mujer 2000, and Mariachi Divas. Tickets range
from $7 – $46, and tables of 10 can be purchased for $600 – $1,000. A
special Mariachi Mass, free to the public, will be held that morning
at 7:45 am at St. John's Cathedral located at 2814 Mariposa St., Fresno,
California.
To purchase tickets for the festival, visit
the Ticketmaster website or the Fresno Convention Center Box Office
at 700 M Street, Fresno, California, or call (559) 621-4700.
For more information, visit
Radio Bilingüe’s website or call (559) 455-5777.
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The Third Annual Dhamaal Sights & Sounds Festival
March 26, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
The
Third Annual Dhamaal Sights and Sounds Festival will bring the talents
of bansuri (bamboo flute) master G.S. Sachdev and Tabla (drum) virtuoso
Swapan Chaudhuri together for a special performance that celebrates
South Asian-American culture through its ancient heritage.
Admission:
$18 – 35
For more information visit
the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ website.
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Chitresh Das Dance Company
March 31, 2006
8:00 p.m.
Sonoma Community Center
Andrews Hall
276 East Napa Street
Sonoma, CA
The Chitresh Das Dance Company performs Kathak, a dynamic classical
Indian dance that combines intense, percussive footwork, graceful hand
movements and swift pirouettes with a complex mathmatical rythmic structure. Chitresh
Das is a former master in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program.
For more information visit
Chitresh Das Dance Company’s website.
April
Lao Arts with Prince Somsanith
April 1-30, 2006
12:00 – 4:00
p.m.
Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA
Lao
Prince Nithakhong Somsanith is one of the last gold thread embroiders
in the ancient tradition of the court of Luang Prabang, the former
kingdom of Laos. Now internationally renowned for his art, Prince Somsanith
started his apprenticeship at an early age with his grandmother.
Each
week he will showcase a different type of art:
Week One–traditional pattern design for stencils for gold-thread
embroidery or temple decorations
Week Two–gold-thread embroidery
Week Three–banana leaf ceremonial flower arrangements for festivals
and daily use (these arrangements will be used in the Lao New Year
Celebration on April 22)
Week Four–lacquer art with gold-leaf stencils
Admission: Free with museum admission of $10
For more information visit
the Asian Art Museum’s website.
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Latin American Symposium: Defending Indigenous Lands, Languages,
and Culture
April 1, 2006
San Diego Museum of Man
Balboa Park
1350 El Prado
San Diego, CA
With the theme of Defending Indigenous Lands, Languages, and Culture,
the the 13th Annual Latin American Symposium will give a focused overview
of the indigenous people of Panama—the Kuna, Emberá, Wounaan,
and Ngöbe. Participating scholars include Mari Lyn Salvador
(San Diego Museum of Man), Mac Chapin (Native Lands), James Howe (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology), Julie Velásquez Runk (Yale University),
Joel Sherzer (University of Texas, Austin), and Philip D. Young (University
of Oregon).
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m with the presentations from 8:30 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. A wine and bocaditos reception will be held in the Museum
Saturday evening following the Symposium.
Registration: $75 for non-members.
To reserve a space with a credit card, call (619) 239-2001, or mail
a check to the Museum. For more information visit
the Museum of Man’s
website.
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Music and Dance of Bali
April 1, 2006
8:00 p.m.
California State University Sacramento
Music Recital Hall
Sacramento, CA
Gamelan Sekar Jaya offers a special program of music and dance from
Bali, featuring its 25-member gamelan gong kebyar ensemble composed
of gongs, drums, flutes, and other bronze instruments. Gamelan Sekar
Jaya's performance will be directed by artists-in-residence I Made
Arnawa (guest music director) and Tjokorda Istri Putra Padmini (guest
dance director).
Admission: $15
For more information visit
Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s website.
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Food of Fire: Flavors of the Earth
April 1, 2006
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Museum of the American West
Griffith Park
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA
Participants can sample food from the Northwest Coast to the Southwest
with Lois Ellen Frank, author of the award-winning cookbook Foods
of the Southwest Indian Nations: Traditional and Contemporary Native
American Recipes; Navajo chef Walter Whitewater; and Haida culinary expert Roberta
Olsen. The exhibition Totems to Turquoise: Native
North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest will be open for viewing during
the event.
For more information visit
the museum’s website.
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Kularts Magui Moro Master Artists and the Mutya Project
April 2, 2006
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
Photo: Raphael Musni
This double feature showcases Magui Moro Master Artists of the Philippines
and Alleluia Panis Dance Theater’s new project called Mutya. Mutya
is Tagalog for the essence of creative power, the prana, the chi, the
breath, the pearl, life’s pulse in all being. Mutya, a female
energy, is a most sacred & powerful magic, the artist’s muse & inspiration.
Mutya is also the pearl-like object said to issue from the heart of
a banana plant during the holiest day of the year and is believed to
be a powerful amulet. The concept of Mutya is often co-opted by enterprising
beauty pageant organizers. Collaborators include Ana Hortillosa (Video
Art), Anthony Legarda (Costume Design), Francis Wong & Herna Cruz
(Music) and Jean Vengua (poetry).
For more information visit
Kularts’ website.
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Axé e Evoê! An Evening at Carnaval in
Northeast Brazil
April 6, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Fowler Museum of Cultural History
UCLA Campus
Hilgard and Strathmore Avenues
Los Angeles, CA
Visiting Brazilian carnavalesco José Ataide shares his experiences
as a community leader and cultural representative of his city in Pernambuco,
Brazil. Accompanied by Brazilian musicians, Ataide will demonstrate
the rhythm and dance traditions unique to the northeast of Brazil,
including batucada (Brazilian samba), frevo (music with a quick tempo
performed at Carnival), and maracatú (an Afro-Brazilian performance
genre).
For more information visit
the Fowler museum’s website.
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The Silverado Bluegrass Band
April 8, 2006
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
The Flower Fields
5704 Paseo del Norte
Carlsbad, CA
The Silverado Bluegrass Band blends the high lonesome sounds of the
traditional bluegrass vocalists with smooth, tight, and intriguing
harmonies.
For more information visit
The Flower Fields website.
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Odissi Vilas: Sacred Dance of India
April 15, 2006 – 7:00 p.m.
Marin Showcase Theater
3501 Civic Center Dr.
San Rafael, CA
Odissi Vilas presents Nritya Sangham: A Confluence of Dances, a program
featuring Vishnu Tattva Das, members of Odissi Vilas Dance Company
and guest artists Rudrakshya from Orissa, India. This concert
is partially funded by ACTA’s
Living Cultures Program.
Admission: $15
For more information visit
Odissi Vilas’ website.
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2006 US–Japan Taiko Festival and Northern California Cherry
Blossom Festival
Cherry Blossom Festival April 15 – 23, 2006
Taiko Festival April 23, 2006 - 7:00 p.m.
San Francisco Japantown
Geary and Post Street
San Francisco, CA
The US--Japan Taiko Festival, hosted by San Francisco Taiko Dojo with
Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka, is the corner-stone of the annual Northern
California Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco’s Japantown. Now
celebrating its 39th year, the Cherry Blossom Festival is one of California's
most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions. Over 150,000 attend
this event that showcases the color and grace of the Japanese culture
and the diversity of the Japanese-American community. In addition
to the US-Japan Taiko Festival, there will be a street fair that
will feature other performances by San Francisco Taiko Dojo, traditional
Japanese cuisine and cooking demonstrations, traditional Japanese arts
and crafts, a children's fun village, classical and folk dancers, martial
artists, and more.
For more information visit
Taiko Dojo’s website or the Northern
California Cherry Blossom Festival’s
website.
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Sarod Concert
April 16, 2006
4:00 p.m.
Ektaa Center
2691 Richter Ave.
Irvine, CA
K Sridhar performs both the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions of
Indian classical music on the sarod (a 25 stringed lute-like instrument).
Admission: $15
For more information visit
Ektaa Center’s website.
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Bharata Natyam Performance
April 16, 2006 – 4:00 p.m.
Highways Performance Space
1651 18th Street
Santa Monica, CA
Hema Iyer and Shaheen Sheik, disciples of Malathi Iyengar and senior
dancers of the Rangoli Dance Company will perform South Indian Classical
Bharata Natyam dance and the art of Nattuvangam (the art of conducting
a classical Indian dance recital). Malathi Iyengar, director
of Rangoli Dance Company, was a master in ACTA’s
Apprenticeship Program. The
project is supported, in part, by the California Traditional Music
Society and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
Admission: $10
For more information visit
the Rangoli Foundation’s website.
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Lao New Year Ceremony of Prayers and Good Wishes (Baci)
April 22, 2006
1:00 – 3:00 pm
Asian Art Museum
Samsung Hall
200 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA
In the morning, museum visitors may observe AsiaAlive artist Prince
Nithakhong Somsanith preparing the centerpiece of the ceremony with
flowers and other offerings. The ceremony starts at 1:00 pm with a
Lao elder leading a chant. Other elders in attendance will receive
honors and gifts from the community; then all participants will receive
blessings.
Admission: Free with museum admission of $10
For more information visit
the Asian Art Museum’s website.
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Mariachi sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez
April 22, 2006
8:00 p.m.
The McCallum Theatre
73000 Fred Waring Drive
Palm Desert, CA
Under the leadership of José Hernandez, Mariachi Sol de Mexico
has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as with several
symphony orchestras in the United States. Hernandez is also the musical
director of the Las Vegas International Mariachi Festival and the Viva
El Mariachi Festival at the Greek Theatre.
Admission: $30-$75
For more information visit
the Inland Arts website.
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California Indian Storytelling
April 22, 2006
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
The California Academy of Sciences
875 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA
The California Indian Storytelling Association (CISA) sponsors an
afternoon program focusing on the oral traditions of California's indigenous
people. Anne Marie Sayers (Ohlone), Alex Ramirez (Ohlone), and Gregg
Castro (Salinan) will share with Academy visitors a variety of stories,
both traditional and contemporary, that mirror their life experiences,
history, and relationship to the land. Their repertoire includes family
anecdotes, morality tales, and ancient myths. They are stories that
inform us about tribal cultures and embody native belief systems and
knowledge handed down from one generation to the next.
CISA is an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion
of California Indian storytelling and to educating the Bay Area public
about tribal traditions. Throughout the year, they provide venues for
local storytelling, workshops, and an annual festival. For further
information on CISA, visit
their website.
For more information visit
the California Academy of Sciences website.
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San Francisco Festival of the Mandolins
April 23, 2006
11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Croatian American Cultural Center
60 Ondondaga Ave.
San Francisco, CA
Performing this year will be John
Reischman, Eva Scow, Aurora
Mandolin Orchestra, and the Hot
Frittatas. The Concert is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Performers
will offer workshops from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Participants are
welcome to join the Bring Your Own Mandolin Orchestra at 12 noon.
For more information visit
the Croatian American Cultural Center’s
website.
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Ballet Folklorico de Veracruz – Quetzalli
April 26, 2006
8:00 p.m.
Center Arts
1 Harpst Street
Arcata, CA
Quetzalli performs a range of style from the complex
dances of ancient Mexico’s indigenous peoples to boisterous steps set to the popular “La
Bamba” (from their home state of Veracruz). Accompanied by a
lively group of musicians performing on authentic stringed instruments,
Quetzalli journeys through Mexico’s rich and diverse cultural
history.
For more information visit
Humboldt State’s Center Arts website.
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Cambodian Classical Dance
April 27, 2006
7:00 p.m.
The Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main St.
Santa Ana, CA
The exquisite and stylized form of classical dance of Cambodia, considered
the culture's most precious art form and developed as a vehicle of
worship in the temples of ancient Angkor, will be presented by Sophiline
Cheam Shapiro, a graduate of Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom
Penh. Sophiline Shapiro was a former master in ACTA’s
Apprenticeship Program. Reservations required. Light refreshments
and wine served.
Admission: $22
For more information call (714) 567-3679 or visit
the Bowers Museum website.
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KITKA in Concert
April 28-29, 2006
8:15 p.m.
Noe Valley Music Series
1021 Sanchez St.
San Francisco, CA
KITKA, a women’s vocal ensemble performing Eastern European
women’s vocal traditions, will perform with Bulgarian Folkloric
Soprano Tzvetanka Varimezova.
For more information visit
KITKA’s website.
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Masters of the Steel Drum
April 29, 2006
8:00 p.m.
Center Arts
1 Harpst Street
Arcata, CA
Direct from the island of Trinidad come steel drum
players Ray Holman, Clifford Alexis and the “Paganini of the Pan,” Liam Teague,
performing with Humboldt State’s Calypso Band.
For more information visit
Humboldt State’s Center Arts website.
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Legend of Chinese Music
April 30, 2006
2:00 p.m.
San Franciso Public Library
Ortega Brach @ 35th Avenue
San Francisco, CA
“Legend of Chinese Music” is a well planned series of
education programs about Chinese music and instruments. The program
will be presented by the musicians of Melody of China.
Admission: Free
For more information visit
Melody of China’s website.
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County & Regional Calendars
A calendar of Festivals and Celebrations in San Diego is available from the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
Let us know if you have special information that should be posted here.
To update information or submit an event for the calendar,
please email ACTA.
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