More on the Chinese New Year Gala at North Allegheny Senior High School, January 18.

The Almanac talks with Susan Chang, president of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology – Pittsburgh Chapter, which is helping to organize a Chinese New Year Gala at North Allegheny Senior High School on January 18.

The groups’ annual Spring Festival features some high-profile visitors from China along with Pittsburgh-area performers.

“We are drawing more and more people to the event,” Chang said, noting that about 1,000 people attended last year at North Allegheny’s Marshall Middle School.

2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) in Pittsburgh through (at least) January 22.

The 2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子), which opened in Pittsburgh today, will continue through at least January 22. From the distributor:

GKIDS proudly presents the highly-anticipated new film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name. The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

After its initial run at the AMC Loews Waterfront, Southside Works Cinema, and Cinemark in Monroeville, North Hills, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson on the 15th and 16th, it will continue at the AMC Loews Waterfront through the 22nd. Tickets for those shows are available online via Fandango.

Calligraphy Meetup: Writing with Japanese Sumi Ink, January 19 at Ace Hotel.

This month's Calligraphy Meetup with the Calligraphy Guild of Pittsburgh will focus on writing with Japanese Sumi Ink. It runs from 2:30 to 5:00 pm at the Ace Hotel in East Liberty (map), and the cost is $5.

Singer Jason Chen at Pitt, January 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Chinese American Student Association and Vietnamese Student Association will host Taiwanese-American singer Jason Chen on January 18, part of the Pitt VSA x CASA Lunar New Year 2020 festivities.

Year of the Rat celebration at Carnegie Mellon University, January 17.

The Carnegie Mellon University Department of Modern Languages, Chinese Studies Program, and Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania will present a Year of the Rat celebration at CMU on January 17. It will feature performances from various OCA Pittsburgh groups, the CMU K-Pop Dance Club, Win-Win Kung Fu, along with several cultural activities. It runs from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Tepper Quad (map) and is free and open to the public.

Ip Man 4: The Finale (葉問4：完結篇) stays in Pittsburgh through January 22.

The 2019 Chinese film Ip Man 4: The Finale (葉問4：完結篇), which opened in Pittsburgh on January 3, will remain here through at least January 22. From the distributor:

Donnie Yen reprises his role as the legendary Wing Chun master in the grand finale of the revolutionary martial arts series. Following the death of his wife, Ip Man travels to San Francisco to ease tensions between the local kung fu masters and his star student, Bruce Lee, while searching for a better future for his son. From the action visionary behind Kill Bill and The Matrix, witness the heroic sendoff to the saga that inspired a new wave of martial arts movie fans.

It plays at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충) to stay in Pittsburgh through January 22.

The acclaimed 2019 Bong Joon-ho film Parasite (기생충), which opened in Pittsburgh on November 1, ran through December 19, and returned to Pittsburgh on January 3, will stay here through at least January 22.

Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2020 Japan Lecture Series – Cultivating Peace through the Way of Tea, January 30 at the Ace Hotel.

via yukoeguchi.com

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will present Yuko Eguchi and "Cultivating Peace through the Way of Tea" on January 30, part of its 2020 Japan Lecture Series.

Cobra, a yakiniku and Korean BBQ place, opens in Bloomfield.

Cobra has opened in Bloomfield, Very Local Pittsburgh writes, in the space most recently occupied by Feng. According to its official site, Cobra

is a full-immersion experience into the world of yakiniku and Korean BBQ, paying homage to both cultures style of table-side dining. Cobra serves up an intimate lounge alongside private karaoke and more. Do you want more?

Cobra is also an event space, with several local DJs and performers on stage this past weekend. It is located at 4305 Main St. (map). Prior to Feng, the spot was actually Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar, one of the few places in Pittsburgh that had Korean BBQ until its closure in 2013.

2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) in Pittsburgh, January 15 and 16.

The 2019 Makoto Shinkai film Weathering With You (天気の子) will play in and around Pittsburgh on January 15. From the distributor:

GKIDS proudly presents the highly-anticipated new film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name. The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, Southside Works Cinema, and Cinemark in Monroeville, North Hills, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson. Shows at 7:00 pm on the 15th will be dubbed in English, while those at 8:00 pm are in Japanese with English subtitles.