Events coordinated by the Asian Cultural Center of Vermont

ASIAN CULTURAL CENTER OF VERMONT: CONNECTING PEOPLE THROUGH ASIAN ARTS AND CULTURE

Calendar of Events coordinated by the Asian Cultural Center of Vermont: * This page will be continually updated with additional events and changes to the calendar. * Other offerings, available by arrangement, are listed at the bottom of this Calendar.
*Workshops, Demonstrations and Events:* * Are held at the C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue, in West Brattleboro, unless otherwise mentioned. * Are located on Route 9 on the left going westwards one mile from a right turn off I-91 Exit 2, unless a different location is mentioned. * Can be arranged to be held at schools, senior centers, and other venues. * Subsequent workshops on the same topic can be arranged to either repeat or to differ in content. * For further information contact Executive Director of the Cultural Center Adam Silver at acc.vt@verizon.net or (802) 579-9088 or (802) 257-7898, ext. 1.
Today's date and local time for Brattleboro, Vermont, U.S.A., Eastern Standard Time:
OPENING HOURS: 814 Western Avenue, Route 9 in West Brattleboro, one mile west of I-91 Exit 2: DAILY, YEAR ROUND 9 am to 9 pm by appointment and chance walk-in with the following exceptions: Weekend hours for July 18-20: Friday 7/18: closing at 5:30pm. Saturday 7/19: open 9 am to 12:30pm. Sunday 7/20, open 9 am to 12:30 pm. Monday 7/21 resuming 9 am to 9 pm opening hours. For appointments , or check if open, contact Adam Silver at (802) 579-9088.
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Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents JENISE TREUTING and her video essay,“Invitations and Ultimatums,” Tuesday July 22, 7-9 pm. on the perceptions that Japanese and Americans have of each other. Question & answer session and discussion period follow. Location: C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue, West Brattleboro.	This 56-minute bilingual documentary, a fascinating series of interviews during the lead-up to the Iraq war, was filmed in Japanese and American towns and cities, locations that unite the two countries, make them seem closer to each other, and with more common ground. There’s a great soundtrack by So Percussion’s Jason Treuting. After the film there will be a question and answer session and discussion period. Based in Asia, Jenise traveled from Mongolia to East Timor for a year, and, in Spring 2008, was in Bhutan. She has a master’s degree in cross-cultural communication from the Journalism Dept. of Doshisha University, Kyoto. The image at right is a still from the video essay. Click here for a Word document version of a flyer for this event.
Guilford Welcome Center 'Coffee Break' fundraiser for Asian Cultural Center of VT Friday, July 25, 7:30am-7pm	Bakers and suppliers of baked goods are needed! Bring baked goods on Thursday July 24 to the C.X. Silver Gallery (814 Western Avenue, Route 9, 1 mile west of I-91 Exit 2 on the left) or between 7:30 and 9 am on Friday morning to the Guilford Welcome Center. With the assistance of Green Mountain Coffee and Asian Cultural Center of Vermont's fiscal sponsor, Alana Community Organization. Music, masks, costumes. A variety of beverages and baked goods; pay-what-you-wish donation.	Please bring baked goods and refreshments toGuilford Welcome Center by 1 pm July 25 or on Thursday July 24 to the C.X.Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue, West Brattleboro, (802) 257-7898.
THROUGH AUGUST: Following the World Learning/SIT Graduate Institute and Brattleboro Museum and Art Center presentation on the Museum on June 13th, The Peace Mask 2008 Project of Myong Hee Kim is now continuing in West Brattleboro through out the summer in two new installations at the C.X. Silver Gallery. Further information on the Peace Mask Project is at: http://homepage.mac.com/ journey04/pm.home.htm CLICK HERE for a series of seven webpages showing images and an article about Peace Masks.	A Korean-born artist, living in Japan for the past 30 years, creator of the Peace Mask Project, Myong Hee Kim discussed this innovative endeavor, show images from workshops she has led throughout the world, and display masks created in Brattleboro by students participating in the SIT Graduate Institute’s Conflict Transformation and Peace-building Program this summer. First Myong Hee introduced her work and the Peace Mask Project and how it came to be. When she heard that Japan and Korea had co-sponsored the 2002 FIFA Soccer/Football Cup, she was moved to use her art as a bridge between the Korean and Japanese cultures. Instead of plaster she prefers to use several layers of Japanese handmade mulberry paper to build up the impression that creates the mould and then the mask. The guiding principles of the Peace Mask Project include: understanding the shared community of humankind. During the forum, fourteen of the graduate students took turns relating to the audience their impressions and insights related to taking part in having a mask made of their face, what it meant to them to be engaged in this process and for their to be part of the Peace Masks. Participants included people from Azerbaijan, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Romania, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Tibetan living in India, United States, and multiracial. Among the wonderful insights common to, and shared among, the participants were: (not in any particular order) -- the beauty of each face and all the faces together; -- the similarity of faces to each other while each also being unique -- humans being of one race, the human race -- the common color of the masks bringing unity and equality to all	Click the image above to see a series of seven webpages showing images and an article about Peace Masks.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: PAINTINGS of HIROSHIMA YOUTH of 1945: An opportunity to see this extraordinary exhibition on loan from Phyllis Rodin, through May 2008 at the C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro, open daily, 9 am to 9 pm by appointment and walk-in. (802) 257-7898 or (802) 579-9088. This exhibition continues through August.	These artworks were made from tiny strips of cloth (kiri, in Japanese, means to cut) by Japanese students of the Hiroshima Vocational High School during the months and years following the devastation of 1945. What Ataki-san taught was kir-i, a formal kind of painting which uses tiny scraps of colored cloth held down to board with hand-mixed rice glue. He patiently taught the girls how to do this, and over the next months the girls created dozens of these paintings, mostly of traditional Japanese life and of remembered scenes around Hiroshima. Other images of the kiri paintings can be viewed by clicking here. You can view VIDEOS of Phyllis introducing the kiri painting collection at www.youtube.com and by clicking here.
The lender of this exquisite collection of Hiroshima kiri paintings is 94-year-old PHYLLIS RODIN. For further information, contact Adam Silver, (802) 257-7898 ext. 1. You can view VIDEOS of Phyllis introducing the kiri painting collection at www.youtube.com and by clicking here.	In the 1960s, Phyllis Rodin helped many at the Hiroshima Hospital including some of the 150,000 hibakusha ("explosion-affected people" - survivors) who had been readmitted to the hospital two decades after 1945 who were dealing with incapacitating post-traumatic stress. After many months bedside working with trauma patient at the hospital in Hiroshima, and in honor and gratitude for her work in the city, Ataki-san and the people of Hiroshima presented Phyllis with a number of these incredible kir-i cloth paintings. . Phyllis was in Hiroshima, listening and spending time with patients, helping them deal with their flashbacks from twenty years earlier. With this precious collection of kiri paintings, Phyllis has toured many cities and countries raising awareness of the dangers of nuclear devastation and war and the alternative of Peace through Beauty. An inspiring speaker, she has a momentum about her cause for Creating Peace that shines with her fire of determination to keep reaching out to others.	Click the image of Phyllis above to see a series of short videos introducing the fabric collage kiri paintings on youtube.
The C.X. Silver Gallery presents: CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART of Xi Cai. Through June. Open daily 9 am to 9 pm by appointment or chance/walk-in, (802) 257-7898 ext. 2 or (802) 579-9088. Six-foot-high canvases translate principles of Chinese painting into new calligraphic abstractions. Also, a series of short youtube videos show Cai in the process of creating the works.	These works are part of a series called WU JI. In Chinese, wu means ‘nothingness, ji means ‘infinite.’ Together, it is ‘INIFNITY WITHIN.’ This word for infinity has been popularized in T’ai Chi (or taiji) -meaning ‘the Great Infinite’ and referring to the movement and dance for health that originated as martial arts routines. “Chinese traditional breathing exercise (qigong) and tai ji exercise has helped me channel energy when I paint. Qigong is an aspect of traditional Chinese medicine that focuses on the energy and flow within and around the body. Tai ji movement relates to the endless movement of the Great (tai) Infinity (ji).” This inner energy (qì) Cai refers to, is one of the foundations for understanding how Cai translates principles of Chinese painting and calligraphy into a present-day context. These abstractions take the traditions of brush and ink in a new direction. No particular character or word-idea is present. Yet, in the painting surface, one can see what the Chinese for many centuries have referred to as kong (‘void’) and gu-fa (‘bone-method’). * The videos showing the creation of these works can be viewed at the Gallery website and on YouTube.	Click the image above to see a series of short videos showing these paintings in the process of being created.
CONTEMPORARY TIBETAN THANGKA PAINTINGS: An exhibition of 50 of these works shows through June at C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue, Brattleboro, open daily 9am to 9pm by appointment and walk-in. (802) 257-7898, ext. 2. View examples of Chuntui's work at www.cxsilvergallery.com. Chuntui's exhibit is ongoing at the Gallery.	Chuntui Lama, a Nepali third-generation artist, hand-paints his own Thangkas, a traditional Tibetan form of religious art, used to adorn homes, temples and monasteries, as a portable altar and/or teaching guide, and as a tool for visualization of personal aspirations. In creating his art, CHUNTUI LAMA begins with a handmade canvas that he paints with pigments from Nepal and Tibet. Lama further explains that "the mandala represents a sort of floor plan of the palace (and mind) of the deva, who can be seen as a sort of archetype of the higher nature of the Buddhist practitioner. Chuntui will be presenting workshops on the fundamentals of thangka painting Saturday 11 am - 5 pm on August 16 as a mini retreat. Call Adam Silver to register, (802) 257-7898, ext.2 or cxsilvergallery@verizon.net. Registrants intending to attend are advised to contact Adam Silver to schedule for the August 16 session.
Things Japanese: Celebrating 150 Years. An exhibition at HORATIO COLONY MUSEUM, Keene, NH, through October 15. Wednesday-Sunday, 11am-4pm, No admission charge.For further information, contact Anita Carroll-Weldon, 603 352-0460.	The 150th anniversary of Japan opening its doors to the world for cultural and economic trade is being celebrated by the Horatio Colony House Museum with a beautiful display of Japanese objects from the collection, some which have never been exhibited before. The objects include a fabulous collection of woodblock prints depicting Japanese markets, the theater and historic scenes; a painted screen; a child’s kimono; metal objects; fans; and lacquer work. For more information on the exhibition and a larger view, click on the image at right.
CHINESE & ART SUMMER CAMP Planned for three contiguous weeks for Summer 2008. Students can enroll for one to three weeks, July 28-August 15, 2008.	Learning conversational Chinese, through songs, games, art, and movement, and, for the older students Chinese calisthenics and t’ai chi sword. More information at: www.asianculturalcentervt.org/ html/pgcamp.htm or by following the Programs link of this website to ‘A summer day camp ‘alternative.’ Cost for the weeklong session is: $150 for preschool morning; $225 for school-age afternoon.
Get ready for the VT Samurai Kaiju Festival with LIGHT FARE, HEAVY ARMOR: A hands-on exploration of arms & armor of the knight and the samurai together with a summer evening buffet meal, Monday, August 4, 5:30-8:00 pm, America's Best Inn, 959 Putney Road, Route 5, Brattleboro, 1/4 mile south of the Exit 3 traffic circle. $40 per person, suggested donation. Larger donations are welcome! Call or email Adam Silver to help sponsor or assist in creating the buffet, (802) 257-7898 ext. 1	Don't miss this extraordinary experience! Save the date: Monday evening, August 4th. For twenty years, presenter John W. Pettibone has been the Curator and Education Director of the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester, MA. John will describe the differences in armor and weapons of the European Knight and the Japanese Samurai which includes showing as many items as possible, and allowing adult members of the audience to try items on and be part of the demonstration. Any weapons will be handled by adults as per state and federal law. There will be various pieces of armor for youngsters to try on such as helmets, gauntlets, mail coif, and Japanese helmets. If enough kids turn out for this event, there will be a 'knighting ceremony.' John will also explore the use of arms and armor in various films from Hollywood and Japan. The image, at right, is courtesy of Wittenberg University. Other links for the Hammond Castle Museum include contact information, castle tours and rental for private functions, further description, and about John Hays Hammond Jr. who had this castle built. For this event, tax deductible donations can be made payable to the Cultural Center's fiscal agent, "Alana Community Organization" writing "for Asian Cultural Center of VT" in the memo portion. For further information on this event, contact Adam Silver, (802) 257-7898 ext. 1, or email to acc.vt@verizon.net.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents TANABATA and OBON FESTIVALS of JAPAN, Sunday afternoon, 1-4 pm, August 10, 2008, at 814 Western Avenue, in the garden out back, beyond the parking spaces and garages. Both festivals occur close to each other during the Summer. Tanabata, originating in an astronomical observance, is a day of poetry and crafts. Obon is related to ancient Shinto observances respecting one's ancestors with music and dance featured.	The two festivals will be celebrated in a combined event in Brattleboro, Vermont, a double festival! Tanabata, meaning "Seven Evenings") is a Japanese star festival, held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) which are separated from each other the rest of the year by the The Milky Way. In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on small pieces of paper and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations. The tree in Brattleboro at right participated in the Tanabata festival of 2007. Obon is a very important tradition for Japanese people, a time to wish for the departed that their souls may rest in peace. One belief is that spirits of one’s ancestors join the living, present-day families during the Obon festival. It is a time to clean house, to decorate family altars with flowers and paper lanterns, and to offer vegetables and fruit to the spirits of one’s ancestors. Folk dances (bon odori) are often held during Obon in which people wearing the summer kimono (yukata) dance in a circle usually to the rhythm of taiko drums. In some places, after having welcomed the spirits of the ancestors for the first three days into the home, on the third evening of the festival, families send paper lanterns lit by a candle floating downstream in a gesture to send off the spirits.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents Shakuhachi Master ELIZABETH REIAN BENNETT performing a concert on the Japanese bamboo flute in Brattleboro at the C.X. Silver Gallery on the occasion of the Tanabata & Obon festivals. Sunday afternoon, August 10, 4:00 pm. This concert is by donation.	Elizabeth Reian Bennett is the first woman to be certified a Grand Master of the shakuhachi, the Japanese bamboo flute, and one of only a handful of western players trained in traditional Japanese music. She has studied and performed with Living National Treasure Aoki Reibo, recognized as Japan's foremost shakuhachi instrumentalist, for 25 years. Reian Bennett has per-formed frequently in Japan and worldwide; recent appearances in Japan include Tokyo National Theater and NHK, Japanese National Television. Her repertory spans the ancient wandering monk solos, classical Japanese chamber music, east-west contemporary compositions and works of her own improvisation. For more information on Reian Bennett visit www.cdbaby.com/cd/erbennett.
Tibetan painting workshop and Asian meal in West Brattleboro, Vermont. Mini-retreat for THANGKA PAINTING, ASIAN CUISINE and T'AI CHI FOR HEALTH Saturday, August 16, 11 am -5 pm: Contact Adam Silver by email or phone (802) 257-7898 ext.2) to register Preregister up to one week in advance of the retreat date.	* Tibetan Thangka painting for both beginners and those more experienced, instruction by Chuntui Lama. * Enjoy and learn how to make an Asian vegetarian lunch prepared by Cai Xi Silver in the beautiful gallery space. Saturday, 11 am -5 pm, August 16: $65 per day * Learn Tibetan painting from third-generation Nepali thangka artist Chuntui Lama. * Produce a thangka painting, choosing a design. * Learn vegetarian Asian cooking, preparing dishes.. * Try some t'ai chi movement for health with Xi Cai. * Come for one, two or all three sessions (10% discount for multiple sessions paid in advance together ) * * Click on the images at right for larger views. then click the back button to return.

Japanese Calligraphy and Origami Workshop: Thursday, August 27, 7 pm. Writer, poet and artist, Yumiko Ito-Sandoe, will teach the traditional art of Japanese calligraphy & origami. Traditional refreshments will be served. Reservations required. Horatio Colony Museum, 199 Main Street, Keene, NH. Parking is in Saint Bernard's Church parking lot next to the museum.	The 150th anniversary of Japan opening its doors to the world for cultural and economic trade is being celebrated by the Horatio Colony House Museum with a beautiful display of Japanese objects from the collection, some which have never been exhibited before. The objects include a fabulous collection of woodblock prints depicting Japanese markets, the theater and historic scenes; a painted screen; a child’s kimono; metal objects; fans; and lacquer work. For more information on the exhibition and a larger view, click on the image at right. The image at right depicts a panel of a Kabuki triptic by Toyokuni, on display at the Horatio Colony Museum. For reservations and further information, contact Anita Carroll-Weldon, 603 352-0460.
Ongoing: Central Asian Cinema a twice-monthly film series continues Tuesdays and Saturdays, twice monthly. This series of 10 feature films, subtitled in English, will be shown one per week, two weeks during each month, each film generally shown on a Tuesday and then repeated on the following Saturday. Film viewing will be preceded by a short introduction and followed by a discussion period.	Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents a twice-monthly film series at the C.X. Silver Gallery. The films are emblematic of five Central Asian Republics, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Each republic is represented by two feature length films. For each republic, there is a film made during the Soviet times and another made since independence in the 1990s. To promote awareness about Central Asia world-wide, The Arts and Culture Network Program of Open Society Institute (OSI) has commissioned Central Asian Cinema Expert Gulnara Abikeyeva to bring together this collection. These films are shown with the permission of OSI. This compelling image of the hands was created by Ilya Rudoplavov. See below for specific films.These films are offered to the public free of any admission charge. Any donations received will help to offset expenses of programs and events offered by the Cultural Center.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents KOSH BA KOSH a film from Tajikistan (1993, 98 minutes). Tuesday, August 26 at 6 pm. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses.	The opening caption of this film dedicates this film "to all women we love." This romance, set against a backdrop of civil war, first in the city, then in the mountains, living by a funicular railway. After a father loses his daughter to a young man in a game of dice, the two young people grow to love each other. By the end, she must bury her father who has been caught in the crossfire of the civil war. Gulnara Abikeyeva explains further: "Kosh Ba Kosh" is a term that refers to disputable situation in the ancient Tajik dice game and it means "let’s play it again." PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE TO THE 26th.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents HASAN - ARBAKESH a film from Tajikistan (1965, 91 minutes). Saturday August 30, at 5 pm. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses.	Hasan, with his cart and horse, journeys in the name of his beloved Saodat, hoping to earn enough to marry his sweetheart. After courageous exploits, the world is changing around them, with trucks taking the place of the horse and cart, the heroic couple, alas, cannot ultimately be together. A charming but sad movie, with subtitles, with sung Tajik folk tunes now and then. PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE TO THE 30th.
The VERMONT SAMURAI KAIJU FILM FESTIVAL will be held September 5, 6 & 7, 2008 in Brattleboro at area theatres. Venues in other towns to be announced. Kaiju is the genre of 'mysterious beasts' such as Godzilla movies. These Japanese language films will be introduced by people knowledgeable in the film genres. Out of state marketing is sponsored in part by Vermont Dept. of Tourism and Marketing through a Fund for Tourism & Marketing Initiatives (FTMI) Grant .	This Festival, the first of its kind, celebrates the Japanese film through two genres, the Samurai films and the original kaiju films that gave rise to Godzilla movies. Kaiju, in Japanese, means ‘mysterious beast’ and refers to a film genre that grew from the 1950s and continues to this day. Samurai is a term for warriors in pre-industrial Japan. The approach is to show films accompanied by other fun activities for all ages related to kaiju and samurai films. Other events include a dress-up dance party at the River Garden, an exhibition of make-your-own-monster or samurai and other related performance events. With the differences in approach and emphasis between the Japanese language kaiju films and the U.S.-produced Godzilla counterparts, there will also be a panel discussion on the legacy and relevance of Samurai and Kaiju films for America and the world today. Contact Adam Silver, (802) 579-9088 or acc.vt@verizon.net to get involved. Under-writers are needed for the film screening costs. Click here for a Word document version of a flyer for this event. The festival website is coming soon: www.vermontsamuraikaiju.org. See also August 4, a month earlier, for LIGHT FARE, HEAVY ARMOR.	z
Japanese CALLIGRAPHY and ORIGAMI Workshop: Saturday, September 13, 3-5pm. Writer, poet and artist, YUMIKO ITO-SANDOE, will teach the traditional art of Japanese calligraphy & origami. Traditional refreshments will be served. Reservations required. Horatio Colony Museum, 199 Main Street, Keene, NH.	The 150th anniversary of Japan opening its doors to the world for cultural and economic trade is being celebrated by the Horatio Colony House Museum with a beautiful display of Japanese objects from the collection, some which have never been exhibited before. The objects include a fabulous collection of woodblock prints depicting Japanese markets, the theater and historic scenes; a painted screen; a child’s kimono; metal objects; fans; and lacquer work. For more information on the exhibition and a larger view, click on the image at right. Parking is in Saint Bernard's Church parking lot next to the museum. For reservations and further information, contact Anita Carroll-Weldon, 603 352-0460. The image at right depicts a panel of a Kabuki triptic by Toyokuni, on display at the Horatio Colony Museum.
MID-AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL of China, Korea & Vietnam: Saturday, September 13, 2008 5:30-8 p.m. Location: Kiwanis Pavilion at the top of Memorial Park in Brattleboro; Free potluck; all ages.	Rain or shine, celebrate the moon and remembrance of family members who are not with us, with crafts, games, dance, t’ai chi, stories and food. For the potluck, try to bring something round (for instance:moon cake, noodles, pie, quiche, carrot or cucumber slices, or whatever you can manage.) Then watch the harvest moon rise.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: THE ORATOR, a film from Uzbekistan. (90 minutes, 1998.) Film showing wasTuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, at 6 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. There is only one showing this month for this film. Parental guidance is suggested.	Set during the 1930s, The Orator, is a historical drama, told as a fairy tale, of Iskander and his four wives moving through a regime change in which women are ordered to throw away their veils.During the fim, Iskander moves from poverty to affluence to acclaim to ostracism. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: YOU ARE NOT AN ORPHAN, a film from Uzbekistan. (75 minutes, 1963.) Film showing was Saturday, Sept. 20 at 5 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. This film is for general audiences.	This remarkable and touching film produced during the Soviet era, and based on true events during World War II, describes the family of a blacksmith couple who take in fourteen children while their own son is away at the battlefront. These children of different ages and nationalities learn to live together. When the son returns from the Front with yet another child, and from the country of the enemy army, even this child is welcomed into the family. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses.
NAVARATRI DANCE FESTIVAL: Sunday afternoon, September 28, 2008, 1-4 pm, *at the River Garden, 157 Main Street, in downtown Brattleboro.* Free potluck; all ages. Leave a message at 257- 7898 indicating how many are coming in your group.	The nine (nava) nights (ratri) of this festival of dancing from India are introduced during one afternoon. The festival is devoted to destroying all our impurities and vices, increasing in wealth, and gaining wisdom. Learn about the meaning of Navaratri for us today and practice a fun group dance.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: BESHKEMPIR, a film from Kyrgyzstan by Aktan Abdykalykov (77 minutes, 1998, subtitles.) Film showing is Tuesday, October 14, 2008, at 6 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. There is only one showing this month for this film.	Beshkempir traces the life of a young teen boy in the Kyrgyz countryside. The film opens with an adoption ceremony of the boy as a baby by the village elder women. We then see him as a young teen with his peers, and with his step parents, and then the closing with the funeral of his beloved grandmother. Parental guidance is suggested with scenes not appropriate for younger children of sexualized activity and some swearing. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: THE WHITE MOUNTAINS, a film from Kyrgyzstan by Melis Ubukeev (62 minutes, 1998, subtitles) Film showing is Saturday, October 18, 2008, at 5 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro.	In White Mountains, subtitled “Difficult Crossing,” Mukash is chased by officials, learns of the devastation of war from a blind woman and helps her daughter to freedom beyond the river crossing, he, having to choose a tragic solution. This film has some swearing and a plotline for ages 10 and up. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses. There is only one showing this month for this film.
Dance & Music from the west Asian Republic of Georgia: A film shown free to the public, for children and adults. There will also be a sampling of Georgian cuisine and other aspects of Georgian culture. Donations welcome to defray the cost of programming events by the Cultural Center. Sunday, October 19, 1-4pm at the C.X.Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro.	Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents a filmed concert of the Georgian National Ballet with the Sukhishvili Ensemble, followed by discussion of Georgia, the land and its culture. Donning a variety of traditonal costumes, the Georgian men's and women's dance are as different from each other as yin and yang and yet, together, it harmonizes. The men's dances are acrobatic marshalling a huge amount of kinetic energy. The women's flow across the stage is reminiscent of some forms of choreography from southeast Asia. The dance and music are at an enthralling Eurasian crossroads. Tbilisoba, the annual festival celebrating Georgian culture is planned for October 19.
DIWALI: INDIA'S NEW YEAR Sunday afternoon, October 26, 2008, 1-4 pm., *at the River Garden, 157 Main Street, in downtown Brattleboro.* Free potluck celebration for all ages. With more opportunity to try the Garbha dance of Navaratri (see above).	Learn about the mythic stories connected to this festival of lights, and joy, celebrating the victory of good over evil and the return of the hero(ine). Arts and crafts, potluck refreshments, and lessons for women in how to wear a sari. Find out about bindi dots on the forehead and what a rangoli is and how to dance the Garbha stick dance.
VERMONT MONGOLIAN FILM FESTIVAL will be held Saturday and Sunday November 1 and 2, 2008 at local theatres. This event follows Mongolia's Golden Eagle Festival held annually, this year in mid October.	JOSEPH SPAID will present his film, Kiran Over Mongolia, the training of hunting eagles by a Kazakh nomad in Mongolia. . For further information, visit the film's website: http://kiranovermongolia.com. Vermont Institute of Natural Science will be sending a representative to show a hunting bird and make a presentation to the audience. For more information on V.I.N.S. and their programs, email to info@vinsweb.org. More information on this film festival will follow.
VERMONT MONGOLIAN FILM FESTIVAL will be held Saturday and Sunday November 1 and 2, 2008 at local theatres. Stay tuned for further details!	SAS CAREY will present her film Gobi Women's Song, a 73 minute documentary on nomadic women and their lives in the Gobi desert. For further information visit www.lifenergyheal.com. In addition to the films, there will be one or more presentations on topics such as Mongolia, falconry, and/or nomadic nursing. Click here for a 8.5x14" poster for the film (it's a big file). Change printing settings to reduce to 8.5x11.
Bank of Thailand and Asian Cultural Center present: *BHUTANESE TEXTILES: WEAVING FROM THE HEART,* an exhibition at the Bank of Thailand Museum, Chiang Mai, November 10 2008 through January 2009. An exhibition originating in Brattleboro, USA at the C.X. Silver Gallery in summer 2007 and now traveling to southeast Asia.	* The occasion of this exhibition, "Bhutanese Textiles: Weaving from the Heart," presents a three-way intercultural 'first' of having the U.S.A., Thailand and Bhutan joining together in celebrating an outstanding example of the arts, in this case textile arts through the national dress of the Bhutanese people as economic engine and linchpin of cultural identity. The subtitle, 'Weaving from the Heart,' refers to the sublime place that weaving has in the life, culture and economy of the Bhutanese. * The Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) is co-hosting this exhibition with the Bank of Thailand, "Bhutanese Textiles: Weaving from the Heart" at the Bank of Thailand Museum in Chiang Mai. The rare and brilliant weaving and ornaments from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan have been gathered by local textile collectors Jay and Rungnapa Bommer who have collaborated with ACCVT to create this exhibition in its original setting at the C.X. Silver Gallery in Brattleboro and now having further venues internationally. Jay has been travelling to Asia for the past 19 years and his wife Rungnapa is a Thai Native from the city of San Patong in the Chiang Mai district. * The exhibition also features photographer and writer Torie Olson's compelling recent color images of the Bhutanese in their exquisite garments. Torie Olson traveled to Bhutan to photograph and research the rich weaving traditions and age-old herding systems. As a volunteer development consultant, Olson's focus is on documenting, promoting, and preserving the world’s traditional arts and rituals before they are lost to globalization, imitation, and repression. An example of Torie's writing and photographs on Bhutan can be found here. Further information about Bhutan is below in the 2007 exhibition announcement. * Also shown during the exhibition will be “From the Land of the Thunder Dragon; Textile Arts of Bhutan” a one hour video produced by and with the permission of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: AKSUAT, a film from Kazakhstan by Serik Aprimov (80 minutes, 1997.) Film showing is Tuesday, November 25 at 6 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. Aksuat, a tragic farce, shows a grim look at the changing modern times in relation to a traditional Kazakh village and the plight of two brothers, one who stays in the village and the other who becomes a social outcast in the city. Adult situations mean that this film is not for children.	Aksuat is the name of a real village where Writer/Producer/ Director Serik Aprymov lived as a child. This film depicts the real Kazakh village without movie studios or stage sets. Gulnara Abikeyeva described the experience of this film through Aman, the brother that stayed behind in the village: “The film has an amazing rhythm – unhurried and reserved, just like the character of Aman. At the same time the film doesn’t have anything unnecessary; all elements add important information to the whole picture of the film. Behind this reserved appearance, an incredible energy pulses – of course, the humans’ lives are broken!” There is also “the visceral and heartbreaking musical score” and “the deserted almost moon-like surface” of the landscape. … If Serik Aprimov says something with a straight face, it means that a trick is somewhere about. His films are the same way. He sees funny things and paradoxes in everything. But behind this ironic smile there are deep feelings and a true love of his people.”
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: THE LAND OF THE FATHERS, a film from Kazakhstan by Shaken Aimanov (85 minutes, 1966.) Film showing is Saturday, November 29 at 5 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro.	The Land of the Fathers, shows the heartwarming odyssey of a boy and his grandfather to recover the remains of the boy’s father in the aftermath of World War II. There is a meeting of different worldviews within the Kazakh and Soviet society of the time, the atheist scientific view of life and the devout Muslim view come to light in dialogue while people talk on the train journey. This is for general audiences with one scene of an amorous adult couple. Click here for a Word document version of a flyer for these Kazakh film events.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: LITTLE ANGEL, MAKE ME HAPPY, a film from Turkmenistan. (88 minutes, 1993.) Film showing is Tuesday, December 9 at 6 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. This film is for general audiences.	During World War II in Turkmenia, the deportation of Soviet citizens of German origins begins; adults are sent to concentration camps, children to orphanages. Six-year-old Georg hides from the Red Army Soldiers in his now-abandoned village, has to bury an adult relative, figure out how to care for a sick child, and, through this world turned upside down, he keeps his belief in Little Angel that he has heard from a children’s song. The story touches on one of the most complex of problems: what is the Motherland? Gulnara Abikeyeva our Central Asian film expert considers this film to be one of the top ten for her of all time. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center programming and event expenses.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, a film from Turkmenistan. (75 minutes, 1963.) Film showing is Saturday, December 13 at 5 pm at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. This film is for general audiences. Shown by permission of Open Society Institute, there is no admission fee; donations welcomed to help with Cultural Center event expenses.	There is only one showing for this film this month. An old goat and sheep herder and his daughter in law breed lambs in an isolated part of the desert with rarely a visitor. She lives with images in her mind of her husband, awaits his return from the battlefront, and hopes he is still alive. Gulnara Abikeyeva our Central Asian film expert describes: “The war has taken her husband. And this dream - to sing a song at the baby’s cradle - is carried out to the culmination of the film.” One of the heroes of the film is “an always awaited child” who “will never appear.” The film moves in the rhythms and landscape of traditional Turkmen lifestyle, opening with old man buried in the hot sand up to his neck to treat his rheumatism. Later they dry melons for winter, and take in newborn lambs. This film has won prizes at many film festivals.
SHOGATSU: JAPAN'S NEW YEAR: Celebrate with activities for all ages: music, crafts, food, games, calligraphy & poetry. Thursday, January 1, 2009, 1-4 pm. At the River Garden, 157 Main Street in downtown Brattleboro. Click here for the 2008 flyer as a Word document.	Immerse yourself in fun Japanese activities: Learn a Japanese song. Try playing a traditional Japanese instrument and Japanese games. Try Japan’s special sweet rice dish. Practice Japanese writing, your name in Katakana, and New Year’s calligraphy. Make your own Japanese decorations (kadomatsu) for the entrance to your home. Bring a dish, a non-alcoholic beverage, or a snack to share for the potluck. A free event open to the public for all ages. Suggested donation to defray space rental cost: $5/family; $2/person.
LUNAR NEW YEAR of CHINA, KOREA & VIETNAM: in downtown Brattleboro; at the River Garden, 157 Main St., downtown Brattleboro, a festival-potluck for all ages. Bring a dish to share. Donations welcome to defray the cost of space rental. Sunday, January 29, 1-4 pm, 2009.	The Year of the Rat/Mouse officially begins in 2008 on February 7, but this festival celebration will take place, as usual, on the nearest Sunday afternoon. Activities include crafts, song, Chinese exercise en masse, an introduction to t'ai chi, and a huge Vietnamese dragon dancing to the beat of drums, brought by Marlboro College staff and students and with audience participation for children and adults. Practice Chinese Chinese calligraphy with scores of other people on a massive sheet of paper. Be on a team for the Korean rope tug, or cheer on the two teams.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents: HINAMATSURI: DOLL FESTIVAL OF JAPAN: Sunday afternoon, March 8, 2009 1:00-4:00 p.m. in West Brattleboro, 814 Western Avenue at the C.X. Silver Gallery..	Doll exhibition and activities for all ages. A day of wishes for happiness, success, and healthy growth. Dolls wear imperial court costumes from the Heian period of Japan (8th-12th centuries). Learn origami doll making, a Japanese song, calligraphy, haiku poetry, and how to wear a kimono! Take your picture in a kimono with the Hinamatsuri display.
NO RUZ : SOUTHWEST ASIA'S NEW YEAR: Sunday March 22, 2009, 1:00-4:00 pm. the day after the official 'New Day,' Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents an introduction to this ancient and current festival with activities for all ages around the focus of the spread (sofreh) of auspicious items. Click on the goldfish (at the left) to see an array of typical items. Feel free to bring something to share.	No Ruz (Persian for ‘New Day’) has been observed for thousands of years by the ancient cultures of Persia (present-day Iran), and is celebrated as 'Nauryz' and 'Navroz' by many of the republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus.This festival is also celebrated as 'NawRuz' in the Sufi and Baha'i faiths. Activities include: readings from Persian and Baha'i poetry, learning Persian holiday greetings and phrases to wish others well, playing games of chance, and visiting with relatives and neighbors. There is also the customs of setting the special table or spread (sofreh) with seven plates or bowls containing items all beginning with the Persian sound 's' and 'sh' all symbolizing peace, prosperity, growth and other auspicious meanings. Naw Ruz (No Ruz/Nauryz/Navroz/Nowruz) celebrates the arrival of Spring and is a thanksgiving celebration.
CHILDREN'S DAY FESTIVAL of JAPAN & CHINA, Sunday afternoon, May 17, 2009, 12-3pm, atop Memorial Park, Brattleboro, at the Kiwanis Shelter. Free, with donations welcome to help defray the cost of programming for events by the Cultural Center. This festival is held on the nearest Sunday afternoon to the half way point between Japan's day for children (May 5) and China's (June 1). BRING GOODIES FOR THE BAKE SALE to defray the cost of location rental. Potluck snacks, refreshments and dishes. Bring something to share.	This is a combination of the May Japanese festival Kodomo-No-Hi and the June Chinese festival Guoji Ertong Jie. The purpose of these festivals is to value the personalities of children, consider their happi ness, and thank their parents. The carp has been traditionally chosen as the shape of the windsock or streamer in Japan because it symbolizes strength and success. In China, legend has it that the carp once swam upstream to become an auspicious dragon, the benefactor of the natural world and of the abundance of the world for which humans give thanks. Activities include: Making koinobori, carp-shaped windsocks or streamers. Making a Chinese kite and fly it. Making an origami frog that 'hops' Making an eensy weensy origami spider that climbs up Trying Chinese and Japanese writing and calligraphy. Experiencing group poetry: Listen to and write some haiku. ** Decorating on a giant carp- shaped windsock. Thanks to our sponsors in 2007 for underwriting the cost of space rental, Brown & Roberts and Brattleboro Savings & Loan, and to Amy's Bakery and Vermont Country Deli for contributing to the bake sale, and to Hannaford's, Wal-Mart and Price Chopper for contributing to the refreshments and craft materials. Sponsors are needed for Festival 2008. Contact Adam Silver if you can help, (802) 257-7898 ext.1 or (802) 579-9088.
Come march with the Asian Cultural Center of VT in the Strolling of the Heifers PARADE Saturday morning, June 6, 2009, 8:45-11:30 am. Assemble at the back of the parking lot of 80 Flat Street, downtown Brattleboro at 8:45 a.m. Look for the 30-foot dragon and banner for the Asian Cultural Center of VT. The parade will end by the Brattleboro Common at Park Place and Linden Street.	People are needed to help carry the 30-foot dragon and the carp windsocks. We also have, on loan, a collection of Asian farming hats to wear during the parade. Traditionally, the Asian dragon symbolizes abundance of the land and the mysterious harmony of Nature itself. The windsocks were created at a recent Brattleboro festival for Children’s Day of Japan and China. In the Heifers Parade, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont celebrates the greening of Asia and the Brattleboro area and the common preservation of forests. The parade officials will position each marching group at 9 am at or near 80 Flat Street in downtown Brattleboro. Our marching group should get to the ending place (Park Place & Linden St.) by about 11:20 a.m. Click on the image at right for a larger version. Click here for a Word document version of a flyer about marching in the parade with the Asian Cultural Center of Vermont.
DUAN WU FESTIVAL of CHINA, Sunday June 29, 2009, 1-4 pm, 814 Western Ave., in West Brattleboro. Contact Adam Silver for more information, (802) 257-7898 ext. 1. Free event; donations welcome.	Learn the story of poet Qu Yuan and the Duan Wu Festival and how zongzi dumplings came about. Make paper zongzi ornaments with colorful silk thread and mini paper dragon boats. Ornament making works best for ages 9 to adult. This is also an Art Fits Vermont event. Puzzle pieces will be available to create your own during this two-year state-wide event. Click on the previous sentence to learn more about Art Fits Vermont. Click here for a Word document flyer of the Duan Wu Festival event. The actual festival day is the 27th, later this year than most years due to this being a leap year in the Chinese traditional calendar.
(more events planned here...)
Events, previously held:
Introduction to T'ai Chi with stress reduction techniques Friday, - September, 4-5 pm. FREE.	For improved health and well-being, learn basic self-acupressure techniques and other movement routines, as well as t'ai chi movements, positions, and rhythm.
Monkey King’s meaning for us today: Reading, Viewing and Roundtable. Sat., during the Brattleboro Literary Festival '06, 814 Western Avenue.	Readings from Chinese folklore and the classic, Journey to West, will be followed by viewing an excerpt from the movie of the Monkey King with ongoing narrative commentary and discussion.
The Art of the Chinese Word: Reading, Viewing and Roundtable. Sunday, during Brattleboro Literay Festival '06, 814 Western Avenue.	Presenting emerging book illustrator Cai's new paper-cut picture book on Chinese characters, a display of children's Chinese book making, calligraphy and art, and a discussion about intuitive associations within and between Chinese words.
Chinese cooking: Making vegetarian dumplings: $25/person, ages 7 and up.	Learn how to make jiaozi, including the stuffing, flour wrappers, tips for cooking, and a pleasing presentation. Then, enjoy eating your dumplings!
Loy Kratong: Thai festival: Saturday, in November, for all ages.	Loy Kratong (‘floating lantern basket’) has been celebrated continuously in Thailand for at least 700 years. One focus of this festival is to show gratitude to ‘Mother of the Water,’ for using the water of the planet.
Dragon-making: a Friday in February 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. $6/person; ages 4 and up. Advance registration required, 257-7898 or acc.vt@verizon.net	Using found materials, make a dragon that protects your place year round as a symbol of prosperity, good health, and abundance, that welcomes in the New Year.
Chinese Astronomy: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 7:00-8:30 p.m. Ages 12 and up.	Come discover Chinese innovation, design and history in science of astronomy and the calendar! Presenter: Harvey Nystrom, M.A., M.S.W.
Kuan Yin: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 7:00-8:30 p.m. Ages 9 and up.	Come learn about a key figure of Asian Buddhist culture and her many forms in art and literature. Presenter: Harvey Nystrom.
*Godzilla and Friends: The Art of Kaiju* Cinema in Japan:** lecture with film excerpts and discussion, presented by Harvey Nystrom, M.A., M.S.W. Wednesday, April 25, 7:00-8:30 pm	Kaiju is the genre name of films popularized in Japan that are about giant monsters. The word, kaiju, actually means ‘mysterious beast’ in Japanese. Kaiju are typically modeled after conventional animals, insects or mythological creatures. The kaiju genre of Japanese cinema grew from the mid 1950s.
Tibetan Monk Geshe Ngawang Singey: Teachings on Buddhist Culture and Thought. Saturday evening, June 9, 7-8:30 pm at C.X. Silver Gallery	Understanding Mind, Heart and Consciousness: Teachings on the Culture of Buddhism by Geshe Ngawang Singey, also known as Geshe-la, offers teachings on Buddhist thought, psychology, and communication. More information on Geshe Ngawang at: thosumgephelling.com/ about.shtml Free event; Donations welcome. Ages 9 to adult.
Tibetan Culture: Lecture, PowerPoint & Discussion with Rachel Park at 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro Saturday evening, June 30 2007, 7 - 8:30 pm	Rachel Park has been visiting Asia for more than 30 years. She just returned from travels in Tibet including being at Mount Kailash. For more information, visit Rachel’s website, www.potalaworld.com. Free event; donations went to Khempo Phuntsok Gelek for the building of the only library for several hours travel in any direction in the Kham (Eastern) part of Tibet, work begun in June 2007. The library will function as a school for Tibetan language and Buddhism.There will be classical Tibetan Buddhist writings in the library but Khempo is more interested in modern interpretations and there are scholars, in Kham mostly, who are writing and teaching very interesting things. There will be literacy classes and plans for computers. Although there is no internet yet in the village but Khempo wants everyone to be ready when it comes.
The I-Ching: A presentation by Adeline Hooper, with discussion, Saturday evening July 28 2007, 7-8:30 pm.	The I-Ching, or Book of Changes, has been used for more than 3,000 years as a source of wisdom and oracles and has been much translated from the Chinese. C.G. Jung's description: "The I Ching does not offer itself with proofs and results; it does not vaunt itself, nor is it easy to approach. Like a part of nature, it waits until it is discovered."
Bhutanese Textiles: Weaving from the Heart. July 15-August 12, 2007; The Wangmo weaving continues to be available at C.X. Silver Gallery, in West Brattleboro.	Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presented an exhibition of rare and brilliant weaving and ornaments from the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, nestled in the Himalyas between India and China/Tibet. Opening reception on July 14th Also shown: “From the Land of the Thunder Dragon; Textile Arts of Bhutan” a one hour video produced by Peabody Essex Museum. The size of Vermont and New Hampshire together, Bhutan is nestled between Tibet/China and India. With its high snowy peaks and deep lush valleys, Bhutan has been in a long, self-imposed geographic isolation. Only recently has this culturally rich nation begun to open itself up to the outside world and has the outside world begun to understand the intricacies of its exquisite weavings. The exhibition will give a comprehensive viewing of the national dress of Bhutanese men and women. The producers of these rarely seen textiles have mesmerized museum curators and weavers for their techniques not found elsewhere in the world.
Torie Olson Photos of Bhutan and the Bhutanese, July 15-August 12, 2007.	Last fall, Torie Olson traveled to Bhutan to photograph and research the rich weaving traditions and age-old herding systems. As a volunteer development consultant, Olson's focus is on documenting, promoting, and preserving the world’s traditional arts and rituals before they are lost to globalization, imitation, and repression. Proceeds from her photographic work benefit folk artists and other marginalized peoples.
Hiroshima memorial event and service Saturday afternoon & evening and Sunday morning & afternoon August 4 and 5, 2007 at Walpole Unitarian Church, Walpole, NH (across the river from Bellows Falls, VT), For more information, contact Michael Billingsley 254-3975. Robert Jonas will be playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) at the 10 am Sunday ecumenical service. All weekend, the folding of paper cranes, and the exhibition of the kir-i cloth paintings by Hiroshima school children.	Ataki-san, a teacher at Hiroshima Girls High School, was firmly convinced that his female students would survive the trauma better if some fragment of order was restored in the middle of this chaos. Therefore, he went from neighborhood to neighborhood searching for his surviving students, finding those strong enough to attend "school." He created a makeshift school with 52 out of what were once 350 students, in a tent with a small supply of food and provisions, and began to teach with what he had.
Shattered Angels: Nagasaki's Own Story Sunday morning, Aug. 13 2007, 10 am - noon All Souls Unitarian Church, 29 South St., West Brattleboro	Presented by Harvey Nystrom, from witness accounts of 1945 of Takagashi Nagai’s The Bells of Nagasaki, and afterwards, group calligraphy led by Cai Xi Silver. For more information, contact Harvey, 254-5484.
Paintings by Hiroshima Youth of 1945: An exhibition on loan from Phyllis Rodin for two weeks only, August 15 to 31, 2007 at the C.X. Silver Gallery in West Brattleboro, open daily for this show from 12-6 p.m. These artworks were made from tiny strips of cloth by Japanese schoolchildren in 1945.	What Ataki-san taught was kir-i, a formal kind of painting which uses tiny scraps of colored cloth held down to board with hand-mixed rice glue. He patiently taught the girls how to do this, and over the next months the girls created dozens of these paintings, mostly of traditional Japanese life and of remembered scenes around Hiroshima. In the Hiroshima of the 1945 aftermath, Phyllis Rodin helped many of the 150,000 hospitalized hibakusha ("explosion-affected people" - survivors) deal with the incapacitating post-traumatic stress. After many months and in honor and gratitude for her work in the city, Ataki-san and the people of Hiroshima presented Phyllis with 20 of these incredible kir-i cloth "paintings." We are very pleased to have these paintings on loan from Phyllis.
Shamanism Around the World: lecture, demonstration & discussion, with Susan Grimaldi, Saturday, October 13., 7:00-8:30 p.m. Program: a PowerPoint, "Photographing Indigenous Visionary Healers," shamanism in China and Siberian Asia (the Tuvan, Ulchi, Mongol, and Manchu shamans) and relating shamanism of Asia with shamanism of North and South American and African peoples. Susan will be bringing some shamanic regalia (costume) newly designed by herself to show and demonstrate. The program is free to the public. Donations are appreciated and will go toward an honorarium for the presenter and to defray the cost of presenting programs at the Cultural Center. For further information about Susan and her work, visit www.susangrimaldi.com.	Currently in China, there is a growing interest in reintegrating shamanism back into contemporary culture. Susan Grimaldi, an internationally renowned Native American shaman, based in Vermont, has worked with communities in North China and Inner Mongolia, experiencing the living traditions of the Manchu and Mongol people, including ancient harvest rituals, healing ceremonies, and interviewing Asian shamans. Susan was invited to China to demonstrate her healing approach and help shamanism flourish in China again. She was at the opening of the Shaman Culture Museum of Changchun University in northeast China where she donated some of Shamanic regalia and was invited to participate in the formalities. The images of Susan (at right) show her holding a mask, demonstrating the drumming, and explaining the elaborate and heavy headpiece and other ornaments and their functions. The fringe of the headpiece is designed to cover the eyes. The lower two images are from her presentation here in Brattleboro last April.
The C.X. Silver Gallery presents: Tuareg Silverwork of Ahmed Ibrah Landi. Dates to be announced. Exhibition and reception to be announced. Gallery open daily during the exhibition, 9 am to 9 pm by appointment or chance. Return exhibition postponed indefinitely. Contact Adam Silver for more information, (802) 257-7898, ext. 2 or (802) 579-9088.	Ahmed Ibrah Landi is a renowned jewelry designer living in Bamako, Mali in West Africa. Ahmed was born in Niger, the only son of a nomadic Tuareg family. The Sahara was Ahmed's childhood playground, and is now where he derives inspiration for his creations in silver. All Ahmed's pieces are crafted by hand from pure silver and accented with semi-precious stones, including black onyx , garnet, and agate. He works the silver by hand in a traditional, time-honored manner, without the use of moulds. As an artist, he draws on Tuareg symbolism to make his innovative designs. His jewelry pieces are sensual, yet bold, inspired by the mystical and untamed wind and sands of the Sahara. Ahmed has displayed and retailed his work throughout Europe and West Africa. His first exhibit in the U.S. was at the C.X. Silver Gallery in October 2007. He is soon to collaborate with the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Please note that Ahmed comes from Niger not from Nigeria.
A memorial exhibition for Xi Hua, 1927-2007, October 2-29. Tree planting commemoration ceremony of Xi Hua and Xia Wei Saturday October 6, 10:30 a.m. followed by a reception at C.X. Silver Gallery. Friday evening, October 19, 7-8:30 pm, there will be a presentation with powerpoint images: "Three Generations of Chinese Painters" by Xi Cai (Cai Xi Silver).	Mr. Xi, Hua (pronounced ‘Shee Hwah’) had a 50-year career as stage designer, costume- and make-up designer, actor, and visual artist in the city of Chongqing, China. Early years in the 1940s were spent as a banker in Shanghai where he founded a theater company. After emigrating to the United States, he continued acting in radio and television advertisement as the ‘elderly Chinese gentleman’ and did artwork for staged productions, performance pieces, and a Chinese cultural center in New York. He recently exhibited traditional bird-and-flower paintings at the West Village Meeting House in Brattleboro.Cai discussed Xia Jing Guan, her great-grandfather who was a landscape painter in Shanghai in the first half of the 20th century. She also provided a retrospective of Xi Hua's life and work.
C.X. Silver Gallery presents: 'The Many Faces of Afghanistan' by Jonathan Hoffman, an exhibition of photographs of contemporary Afghanistan, October 29 - November 30, 2007 at C.X. Silver Gallery. During the reception, there was a conversation with Jonathan about Afghanistan and his experiences there.	Through his nonprofit, Direct Aid International, Jonathan Hoffman has been visiting Afghanistan working on projects to bring a sense of normalcy to people in war-torn crisis areas by building schools, a library, latrines, and drilling wells for drinking water supply. In the town of Yakshi where an elementary girls school was built, this photo was taken shortly after Jonathan's arrival.Images of the destruction of the collosal Buddha at Bamiyan are included. Jonathan is also the sole U.S. distributor for Afghan saffron.
Two Conversations on Central Asian Film with Dr. Gulnara Abikeyeva of Kazakhstan, film critic and expert, writer, publisher, professor, and judge at film festivals worldwide: Saturday, November 10th at 7-9 pm and Sunday November 11th at 12:30-2:30 pm., 2007, at the C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue in West Brattleboro. Saturday featured the Kazakh film, Land of the Fathers. Sunday featured Daughter in Law a film from Turkmenistan. Both films are for general audiences, have English subtitles, and run 70 to 90 minutes each. Gulnara provided an overview of Central Asian culture through the different cinematic traditions, including a 28-minute collage documentary of scenes from a variety of films across different countries.This was a free event open to the public.	In the United States for two weeks as a guest of Bowdoin College, Tufts University and, in between, the Asian Cultural Center of Vermont, Gulnara has directed arts and culture programs in Kazakhstan for The Soros Foundation since 1997, has edited magazines and journals on Asian film and, since 1995, has taught film at the Kazakh Academy of Arts. She was a Fulbright Scholar at Bowdoin College in 2002. She is frequently asked to offer analysis of film and cinema worldwide. Her dissertation from the All- Union Institute of Cinema in Moscow was on "The Interaction of Cultures of the East and the West in Modern Cinema Process."A selection of her articles and film reviews are at: www.kinokultura.com/CA/index.html. Before coming to Brattleboro, Gulnara presented at Bowdoin's film forum, "Kazakh Nation Building Through Film: Family and Women as its Cornerstones." Gulnara helps us understand Central Asian cultures by exploring with us film makers' symbolic language, aesthetics, understanding of their national and ethnic identities, histories, and present society.
The Loft presents: The ON Ensemble in concert, Friday, January 11, 2008, 8 p.m. at Cotton Mill Hill in Brattleboro. This event was hosted by Todd Roach at (802) 380-636 loftarts@yahoo.com In their 50 years of combined taiko experience, the On Ensemble's four young musicians have studied and performed with renowned masters of traditional and contemporary music and dance in the United States and Japan. With musical experience ranging from centuries-old Kabuki music to jazz, rock and electronica, the On Ensemble has crafted a repertoire of ground-breaking taiko music. After a their debut concert in northern Japan and its first western-US tour in the spring of 2002, the group received the Duane Ebata Memorial Fund Award at Los Angeles' Japan America Theater, "in support and recognition of emerging artists of promise who are furthering the development of Asian Pacific American performing arts."	This video ("Rain", 10 minutes) and other videos of ON Ensemble performing can be seen at youtube.com, by typing 'on ensemble' in the search bar and clicking the 'search' button. The On Ensemble uses Japanese drums hand-made by Miyamoto Unosuke Shouten, instrument maker to the Emperor of Japan. Current works feature these drums in conjunction with turntable, western drum kit, bamboo flute, koto (Japanese zither), and Tuvan overtone singing. With the powerful rhythms of taiko music at its foundation, the On Ensemble (pronounced "ohn") combines the musical and dance talents of its four members into unique and provocative performances.
Friends of Mevlana present a Sema, the CEREMONY OF THE WHIRLING DERVISHES that was developed to commemorate Rumi's life and teaching. Sunday, Jan. 20 2008, 4 pm at the Brattleboro Stone Church on the corner of Main St and Grove. While this event is free, any donations will go to the Brattleboro Drop-In Center. This is a very rare and beautiful event, not likely to be held publicly like this again here.	2007 was named the year of Rumi by UNESCO, celebrating the world renowned poet's 800th anniversary. Although Rumi is one of the most read poets in America, few people know that he was also the founder of the Mevlevis, the order of the Whirling Dervishes. Everyone is welcome in keeping with his inclusion of people of all faiths. Music will be performed during the ceremony by Fred Stubbs on ney and voice and Shanteri Baliga on voice and drum. There will also be some reading from Rumi's work. Image source: Turkish Student Association of Syracuse University, (http://web.syr.edu/~tsa/org_index.html). For more general information on Rumi and his octocentennial : http://www.mevlana800.info and http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0705/detail/rumi_2.html.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents Japanese Boat Building Traditions: A slide talk and demonstration, with scale models, and building materials to examine, by Douglas Brooks, at the C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Avenue., Friday evening, Jan. 25, 2008: 7:00-8:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Donations welcome to provide an honorarium to the presenter and towards event expenses of the Cultural Center.	Douglas Brooks is a Vermont boat builder, writer and researcher who builds five types of traditional wooden boats and has apprenticed under four master builders in Japan in a traditional Japanese craft that apparently is dying out for lack of apprentices to continue the tradition. Brooks, who is fluent in Japanese, has been to Japan 12 times. The boats and their uses offer a view of traditional Japanese seafaring life on a remote and romantic island off the coast of Honshu. His book, The Tub Boats of Sado Island: A Japanese Craftsman’s Methods is available for sale. This event is free and open to the public with donations welcome to provide an honorarium to the presenter and towards event expenses of the Cultural Center. For more information, click on the image (right) and visit http://www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com.
Stone Church Arts presents an evening of Music from the Republic of Tuva: the ALASH ENSEMBLE. at the Bellows Falls Opera House. Saturday, January 26, 7:30 pm. Advance tickets at Village Square Booksellers (Bellows Falls), Heartstone Books (Putney), Brattleboro Books, and Misty Valley Books (Chester) are $17 for adults, $12 for children & seniors; at the door tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for children & seniors.	: The members of Alash are students of Kongar-ool Ondar, the master throat singer and former member of the Tuvan parliament who is featured in the movie Genghis Blues. In 1999 they formed the ensemble that evolved into Alash, and Kongar-ool Ondar became the artistic director. They add non-traditional instruments including guitars and accordions, and draw upon their knowledge of complex rhythms and western harmonies. More information about the Ensemble is at: http://www.alashensemble.com including samples of their music. More information on the Republic of Tuva, situated in the geographic center of the Asian continent, is at http://en.wikipedia.org