"Let Memory Shine: Illuminating Family Stories Through Art (點亮記憶的光：跨世代與跨文化的故事交流)," August 23 at Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill.

Cafe Philo Pittsburgh will host a storytelling and art workshop, "Let Memory Shine: Illuminating Family Stories Through Art (點亮記憶的光：跨世代與跨文化的故事交流)," on August 23 at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Squirrel Hill branch.

✨ What’s This All About?

​​Join us for a heartwarming and hands-on day of storytelling, art, and cultural connection! As part of the Taiwan World Portrait Project’s 2025 North America Tour, this workshop invites you to reflect on your family traditions (biological or chosen!), migration journeys, and cherished memories — and then bring them to life through the magical medium of lightbox art. 

Led by acclaimed Taiwanese educator and artist Mr. Chen Yu-He (陳雨禾), you’ll learn how to transform your personal stories into glowing works of art using drawing, paper cutting, and light. Whether you come solo, with friends, or as a multi-generational family, you’ll create a beautiful, handmade lightbox that celebrates your heritage and creativity.

Pittsburgh is the 6th stop on the “World Portraits: Starting from Taiwan’s Collective Creative Experience” tour, which includes workshops in Salt Lake City, San Diego, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle, and Chicago. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to be part of a creative movement!

Check out highlights from previous workshops in Taiwan, Northern Thailand and Japan. 

🎨 What Will I Do?

• Reflect on your family history, migration stories, or cultural traditions in your biological or chosen family
• Sketch meaningful people, places, or objects from your memories
• Learn paper cutting techniques to create layered visual scenes
• Assemble and light up your own story lightbox 
• Share and connect with others in an intercultural setting to celebrate our diversity 

Fresh Garden Kitchen (鑫福源) has soft opened in Squirrel Hill.

Fresh Garden Kitchen (鑫福源) held its soft opening on July 12. Signage went up for the new spot in June, at 2209 Murray Ave. (map), the home of the popular Ka Mei from 2006 to 2020. Since Ka Mei's closure, a number of restaurants have occupied the spot, including Teppan BBQ in 2020, a joint Teppan BBQ - Mr. Egg's Kitchen, I Bowl in 2024, and K L Asian Cuisine briefly in 2025.

Sabrina Wu at Bottlerocket Social Hall, July 27.

Bottlerocket Social Hall will host actor, writer, and comedian Sabrina Wu on July 27.

Sabrina Wu is a New York based actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. They made their feature film debut in the Lionsgate comedy JOY RIDE, from executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and director Adele Lim. They’ve also guest starred in ABBOTT ELEMENTARY, and are a series regular in MURDERBOT starring Alexander Skarsgard on Apple TV+.

Why'd We Book It?

Sabrina Wu is one to watch, and their talent shines both on screen and on stage, and we're lucky to have them this July at Bottlerocket! Sabrina's ability to deliver quick, witty, impressions and interact with the crowd exemplifies an energy that is genuinely funny as well as relatable. As fans of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, we loved Sabrina on ABC's Abbott Elementary, and we know you will love Sabrina's stand up set, too!

More details, and tickets, are available at the venue's website. Doors for the all-ages show open at 5. Bottlerocket Social Hall is located at 1226 Arlington Ave. in the Allentown neighborhood (map).

Japanese company headquartered in Pittsburgh hiring bilingual Assistant Office Manager.

A Japanese company headquartered in Pittsburgh is hiring a bilingual Japanese-English Assistant Office Manager. The job ad, via Japanese staffing agency Pasona:

A global Japanese-affiliated company with operations across North America is seeking a Bilingual Assistant Office Manager to support its administrative headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA (on-site). This role is ideal for someone who enjoys a broad range of administrative responsibilities and providing high-touch support to expats and executive staff.

Key Responsibilities:

Office Administration & Coordination

• Manage day-to-day office operations, including supplies procurement, vendor coordination, facility maintenance, and document control.
• Serve as the main contact for building management, local authorities, and service vendors (e.g., IT, security, etc.).
• Coordinate company events and support executive office functions as needed.
• Greet and assist visitors and handle incoming calls in a professional manner.

HR & Benefits Support

• Assist with the administration of benefit programs including group health plans, 401(k), COBRA, etc.
• Maintain accurate employee records, process claims, and conduct basic benefits research.
• Serve as a liaison between staff and external parties (e.g., legal, insurance providers).

Expatriate Support

• Provide comprehensive support to Japanese expats stationed at affiliated companies, including:
  • Initial relocation setup (housing contracts, utilities, SSN, driver’s license, etc.)
  • Ongoing assistance (contract renewals, hospital visits, emergency support)
  • Departure and wrap-up arrangements

Concert #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR in AMSTERDAM: LIVE VIEWING in Pittsburgh-area theaters, August 9.

The upcoming concert #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR in AMSTERDAM: LIVE VIEWING will play in Pittsburgh-area theaters on August 9.

Starting in Goyang, and continuing through Japan, North America, and Europe, Jin embarks on a journey to connect with his beloved ARMY through his very first solo fan concert tour. Experience Jin’s one-of-a-kind music and performances from his August 9 show in AMSTERDAM - featuring tracks from his second solo album, “Echo”, along with his debut solo album, “Happy” - broadcast live on the big screen!

It plays locally at the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and McCandless at 1:45 pm and 5:30 pm, and tickets are available online.

More dates for compilation film JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death, staying in Pittsburgh through (at least) July 23.

The compilation film JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death, which initially played in Pittsburgh-area theaters on July 16 and 17, will stay here through (at least) July 23. A synopsis of the movie and a summary of the event, from the distributor:

Before they were enemies, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were high school classmates and friends. The two powerful sorcerers are tasked with protecting Riko Amanai, a student who has been designated to be sacrificed as the Star Plasma Vessel, until she can fulfill her duty. Pursued by a religious cult and other curse users, they are the only sorcerers capable of carrying out such a difficult task – but this mission will set their destinies, and challenge the two sorcerers in ways unimaginable.

The beloved and deeply emotional “Hidden Inventory / Premature Death” arc from the global phenomenon JUJUTSU KAISEN returns to the big screen, reaching all new heights for fans and newcomers alike.

. . .

JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death – The Movie comes to North American theaters nationwide beginning July 16th. The theatrical compilation feature returns to the widely beloved “Hidden Inventory / Premature Death” story arc of the globally acclaimed JUJUTSU KAISEN series, which focused on the younger days of fan-favorite characters Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, who shared a deep bond that was tested by one fateful mission. Featuring newly remixed sound for an immersive theater experience, and an all-new acoustic version of Tatsuya Kitani’s “Where Our Blue Is,” this high-quality adaptation, which captivated audiences during its original broadcast, reaches new heights—bringing the powerful story back to the big screen.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the AMC Westmoreland in Greensburg, and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless and Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Togyu Asian Barbecue and Bar in Cranberry to soft open July 23.

Togyu Asian Barbecue and Bar, coming soon to the Cranberry Mall spot formerly occupied by Lumberjaxes Axe Throwing (map), has announced its soft opening for Wednesday, July 23. It is one of the many all-you-can-eat Korean-style BBQ places announced for the Pittsburgh region over the past couple years, and the first for the Cranberry area. The soft opening is set for 3 to 8 pm.

Natsu Hyuuga's The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1 for Carnegie Library's Mystery Book Club, August 5.

The August 5 meeting of the Carnegie Library's Mystery Book Club will discuss Natsu Hyuuga's The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1.

Join us for a lively discussion on The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1 by Natsu Hyuuga. This book discussion is a hybrid event. You can join in person in the Director’s Office Conference Room on the first floor, or virtually using the link provided in your registration confirmation email. Some copies of the title will be available at the New & Featured desk on the first floor at CLP-Main.

This title is available for checkout in our Catalog, and also as an eBook on Hoopla.

The free event runs from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. Those interested in attending remotely should register here, while those who wish to attend in person can meet in the first-floor Director's Office Conference Room.

16mm screening of 1953 Japanese film Ugetsu (雨月物語), July 24 in Oakland.

Pittsburgh Sound + Image and SCREENSHOT: Asia will present a 16mm screening of the 1953 Japanese film Ugetsu (雨月物語) on July 24 at the Melwood Screening Room in North Oakland.

Pittsburgh Sound + Image and SCREENSHOT: Asia reteam for a special 16mm screening of Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu.

Criterion writes, "By the time he made Ugetsu, Kenji Mizoguchi was already an elder statesman of Japanese cinema, fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other directors of a younger generation. And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and fortune leads them far astray from their loyal wives. Moving between the terrestrial and the otherworldly, Ugetsu reveals essential truths about the ravages of war, the plight of women, and the pride of men."

Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7. Tickets are $10 for the general public, but free for Pittsburgh Sound + Image members and CMU or Pitt students, staff and faculty. The Melwood Screening Room is located at 477 Melwood Ave. (map).

R.F. Kuang's Yellowface at Riverstone Books' McCandless Book Club, July 28.

Riverstone Books' McCandless Book Club will feature R.F. Kuang's Yellowface on July 28.

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

The free event runs from 7:00 to 8:00 pm and free registration can be completed online. Those intersted may purchase a copy of the book through the bookstore. Riverstone Books is located at 8850 Covenant Ave. in McCandless Crossing (map).