"We pho realz": Two Sisters Vietnamese Kitchen coming soon to East Liberty.

Two Sisters Vietnamese Kitchen, a new Vietnamese restaurant, is coming soon to 216 N. Highland Ave. in East Liberty (map).

New Korean restaurant Soju now open in Garfield.

A new Korean restaurant called Soju has recently opened in Garfield. Named after the ubiquitous (and cheap) Korean alcohol, Soju describes itself as

Family-owned restaurant/bar featuring Korean-American Cuisine

and is located at 4923 Penn Ave. (map).

Asians and Asian Americans Uniting for Change, April 13 at Pitt.

Several Asian and Asian-American organizations at the University of Pittsburgh are collaborating to present "Asians and Asian Americans Uniting for Change" on April 13 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in room 407 Cathedral of Learning.

Exploring topics like Asians in Graduate Study, Asian Activism in America, Asian American Political Identity, and the History of Asians in the American Labor Movement.

CMU Summit on US-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship, April 13 - 15; International Career Fair on the 14th and 15th.

Carnegie Mellon University will host the 7th annual CMU Summit on US-China Innovation and Entrepreneurship from April 13 through 15.

The CMU Summit operates on a regular basis to host events ranging from tech webinars, tech talks, to Job Fair, and Startup Bootcamp. The annual CMU Summit Conference is one of the largest, top-tier Innovation and Entrepreneurship conferences held by university students in the United States. Each year, we host panel discussions that address cutting-edge issues in various technology and business fields. We also host the New Venture Competition during the annual conference, showcasing innovation ideas of high-potential startup teams. In addition, we provide financing and talents recruiting channels and mentorship programs for early stage startups, and pair them up with seasoned entrepreneurs and investors across the US and China.

Additional information about the summit and its panels is available on the official website. Highlights for the general public include the International Career Fair on the 14th and 15th.

Career Fair is one of the most distinctive and popular events in the history of CMU Summit. The world-class talents that CMU has nurtured will be gathering together to start the journey of contributing to the society and the business world.

Mental Health Awareness Session for International Students, April 16 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program and the Global Citizen Lab will present a Mental Health Awareness Session for International Students on Monday, April 16.

We would like to raise mental health awareness, discuss the stigma against mental health, and introduce you to different resources available on campus.

Snacks will be provided.

The event will start at 9:00 pm in room 630 of the William Pitt Union (map), and is free.

Poet Li-young Lee at Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, April 26.

Via World Literature Today.

Asian-American poet Li-young Lee, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, will speak at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall on April 26. An introduction, from Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures:

Celebrated poet Li-Young Lee returns with a breathtaking new volume about the violence of desire and the peace of love.

The Undressing is a tonic for spiritual anemia; it attempts to uncover things hidden since the dawn of the world. These mysterious, unassuming poems investigate the human violence and dispossession increasingly prevalent around the world, as well as the horrors of growing up as a child of refugees. Lee draws from disparate sources, including the Old Testament, the Dao De Jing, and the music of the Wu Tang Clan. While the subjects of these layered, impassioned poems are wide-ranging, their driving engine is a burning need to understand our collective human mission. Read the title poem from The Undressing online.

Author Min Jin Lee to return to Pittsburgh in April 2019.

via minjinlee.com

The Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Series announced its 2018-2019 Ten Evenings lineup last night, and bestselling Korean-American author Min Jin Lee is scheduled to speak at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland on April 1. Lee read from her book Pachinko at the City of Asylum in February.

PACHINKO follows one Korean family through the generations, beginning in early 1900s Korea with Sunja, the prized daughter of a poor yet proud family, whose unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame them all. Deserted by her lover, Sunja is saved when a young tubercular minister offers to marry and bring her to Japan.

So begins a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, its members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.

Single tickets for the April 1, 2019 talk will go on sale July 5.

Children's Day (こどもの日) at Carnegie Museum of Art, May 5.

"Children's Day Japan" (Creative Commons).

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host a Children's Day (こどもの日,kodomo-no hi celebration on Saturday, May 5 at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Celebrate the children in your life by attending Kodomo no hi—Children’s Day—at CMOA!

The art and culture of Japan awaits your entire family inspired by this Japanese national holiday and our exhibition Hiroshige’s Tōkaidō Road. Learn about the traditions associated with celebrating the strength, happiness, and good fortune of children on this special day. Make flags decorated with spirited koi fish (carp), listen to Japanese folk tales and stories, see and touch a Samurai helmet, and try a traditional rice Mochi cake. View the prints and touch a woodblock in the exhibition and create your own prints that tell about a favorite journey. The powerful rumbling sounds of Pittsburgh Taiko drummers round out this fun-filled afternoon.

University Gamelan 20th Anniversary Concert, April 13 and 14 at Pitt.

Poster for the 1998 Gamelan Ensemble concert.

The University of Pittsburgh's Gamelan Ensemble, which "plays the gamelan music of the Sundanese people" of Indonesia, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with concerts on April 13 and 14. "Gamelan," explains the Department of Music,

refers to a set of predominantly percussion instruments including tuned gongs, metal-keyed instruments, and drums (as well as bowed lute and voice). Gamelan music is played as accompaniment to dance, drama, puppet theater, and martial arts, as well as for concerts of listening music. Gamelan is performed in conjunction with special occasions and to mark important life-cycle event.

Chinese animated film Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠) in Pittsburgh, April 11 and 12.

The 2016 Chinese animated film Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠) is getting a limited release in the US, and will play in Pittsburgh on April 11 and 12. A glowing Variety review summarizes:

In the history of Chinese animation, there has never been a film like “Big Fish & Begonia.” Certainly, precedents exist in American and Japanese cartoons (at its core, the film could be a cross between Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and Studio Ghibli’s “Spirited Away”), but as far as the Chinese industry goes, this bold and breathtaking fantasy adventure stands alone.