Event Day Handout!
For those of you visiting the event today. Here is an intro and preview of festival.
Passport to Taiwan 2010!
postcard design: alice lai
sunday, may 30th, 2010 | 12 - 5pm | union square park north (17th street & park avenue)
4,5,6,N,R,Q,W,L to Union Square
Come to the largest Taiwanese American Outdoor Festival in the US on May 30th to explore many wonders of the Taiwanese American Heritage. From mouth-watering delicacies, arts & crafts and live performance, you will be surrounded by the vibrant energy of the Taiwanese American Community. Explore Taiwan in the featured exhibitions. Learn various crafts with masters from Taiwan. Taste exotic snacks that can only be found in Taiwan’s night markets and enjoy performances throughout the day.
Mark your calendar and join us for a day of festivities. Free Admission
Theme Exhibitions
Handicraft Masters - Organized by the Taiwan Lion Dancing Artistry Association(TLDAA). Established in 1988, TLDAA aims to promote traditional lion dance and folklore by holding hundreds of public performances every year. TLDAA has achieved fame and recognition over years and is currently planning out more astonishing performances to carry on the traditions. |
 | CHANG, MING-SU
Lionhead Painting
Lion is the "King of the Beasts." Although lion dance aims to drive away evil spirits, it was originally practiced to drive away elephants. The lion head is composed of papier-mâché applied over a frame of wicker or bamboo and may weigh from three to eight kilos. The color of the whiskers varies, depending on the history of the troupe. |
 | WU, CHIU-JUNG
Sugar Sculptures
The flexibility of the heated sugar makes it possible for the skilled artist to turn sugar into several different sculptures. The artist blows air into sugar and shapes it into characters and animals with a deft hand. |
 | KUNG, YI-FANG
Paper Umbrellas, Gourd Carvings
Gourds are grown in built-in molds to control their shape. When reaping, they are dried in the shade and then carved in relief. The complicated ways of knotting strings have been very popular since 300-400 years ago in China. Many simple knots are woven together to make a complicated and beautiful knotting. |
 | HUANG, HUNG-SHIH
Paper Cutting
With a pair of scissors, the artist instantly sticks to the motif and cuts out the profile of the person in a blink of an eye. |
 | LEE, YUNG-MO
Reuse of Tree Bark and Drinking Straws
The tree bark and drinking straws are skillfully folded, woven, and cut to make various toys and dolls for children, such as grasshoppers, fish, peacocks, fans and balls. |
 | WU,CHUN-TE
Dough Figurine Sculpture
Rice and flour are kneaded, mixed, joined, cut, and colored to shape folklore figures, animals, flowers, and even cartoon characters. This tradition is one of the most popular items for children. |
 | LIN,MING-WEN
Glove Puppetry
The glove puppets have colorful and various faces that indicate their different characters. The glove puppet is also easy to play. |
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| Noyu Tea A World steeped in the Ancient Asian Tradition of Tea cultivation, Preparation and Enjoyment--made convenient for the Modern Consumer. NOYU Teas literally transport consumers to perfect Mist-Shrouded Hills and Lush Fields of Formosa Island where tea leaves are grown under ideal conditions and harvested at just the right moment. Taking this tradition to the next level, the tea Masters at NOYU infuse our Teas with Luscious Fruits and Honey in creative combinations which yield a product and taste sensation that far surpasses anything currently on the market. http://www.noyuteas.com |
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| Beautiful World of Orchids See how these beautiful flowers traveled afar from Taiwan to settle in the US just like Taiwanese Americans. This exhibition is made possible by Raritan Valley Florist http://www.edisonplantsandflowers.com |
 | Towel Bakery This is a story of a Taiwanese small businesses innovating itself in the global competition. |
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| Tea Ceremony Coordinated by Fang Gourmet Tea. Fang offers a wide selection of world-renowned tea and various styles of refined tea accessories. |
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| Traditional Items Leaf hat or frangrant pouch are common items found in the agricultural Taiwanese society. One provides protection from rain, the other from bugs. Dr. Ai-Lan Wang will host this booth. |
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| Goddess Matsu Coordinated by Winston Liao. Goddess Matsu is a common folk belief in Taiwan. This is an interactive where you will be able beat the drums or try on the big temple figurines. |
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Stage Performances
Feature MC - DJ Hatfield
Assistant Professor of History and Anthropology at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World and the author of Taiwanese Pilgrimage to China: Ritual, Complicity, Community.
DJ Hatfield is a socio-cultural anthropologist and sound installation artist whose work focuses on the role of music and other sounds in the formation of democratic civil society. Currently Assistant Professor of History and Anthropology at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Hatfield is the author of numerous articles, including the Taiwan and Taipei entries in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World and the book length monograph, Taiwanese Pilgrimage to China: Ritual, Complicity, Community. His current projects include the documentary recording and sound installation project Traces of the Diverse: Sounding New Histories after Martial Law. In addition to his academic work, Hatfield studies Nankuan and other traditional Taiwanese music
Feature Artist - Ayesha Adamo
An EMI records artist in Taiwan pop group Beauty4, a group of four girls. The group was referred to by many as the Taiwanese Spice Girls, and left their mark as the first multi-ethnic group to sing in Mandarin.
Ayesha has a degree in music from Barnard College, Columbia University. While in Taiwan on a summer scholarship program to study Mandarin, In addition to touring in Asia being a singer and DJ, Ayesha has also performed as a DJ in both North and Central America. She performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York with Mandarin pop star Qsi Qsin for the a New Year's Concert. Ayesha recently finished recording her rock project, Loss of Eden, with producers Danny Leake and Fran Allen Leake.
The Hsu-nami
An internationally renowned progressive rock band with a song featured during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. Front by Erhu player Jack Hsu (Taiwanese American)
Band Bio:
The Hsu-nami is an international renowned progressive rock band from the United States. The Hsu-nami, named after the frontman Jack Hsu, became known as the first “Progressive Erhu Rock” band in the world. The Hsu-nami integrates an amplified ”erhu”, a two-string spike fiddle used in Chinese classical and folk music, into an instrumental progressive rock sound. Their music is marked by virtuosic erhu melodies and shredding licks, in place of vocals, as intertwined by heavy guitar riffs, tasteful guitar solos, funky rhythms, and metal-driven rock drumming. Part of the new-fusion rock movement, the Hsu-nami redefines the 1960s and 1970s fusion rock sound.
http://www.hsu-nami.com
http://www.myspace.com/hsunami
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vQKCaF4wg
Exit Clov
Known from their youtube fundraising video for the victims of Taiwan's Typhoon Morakot. A lo-fi video performing Taiwanese song "Ai-Biahnh Jah-eh Eah. “愛拚才會贏”. The twin sister/lead vocalists Emily & Susan Hsu personally made donation of .25 cents per hit/view at the time of the Taiwan crisis.
Band Bio:
Exit Clov is a band from Washington, D.C. and New York. We write songs inspired by the madness of our cities. Tunes of resistance, ennui and societal idiocy -- music for 21st century kids. Our name, a tribute to Samuel's Beckett's "Endgame," is both a call to arms and a personal manifesto. We share a wide range of influences from Blondie to Bartok but most of all we love a good hook. Consider our choruses a respite from the soundbite society we live in. Someone once called us "kaleidoscopic pop noir," we think that sounds pretty cool.
http://www.exitclov.com
http://www.myspace.com/exitclov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72M9-kyVxsc
Magnetic Island
Experimental indie rock band base from New York City. Musical collective helmed by Lisa Liu (Taiwanese American) And SMV.
Band Bio:
Magnetic Island is a musical collective helmed by Lisa Liu and SMV. The pair work with a rotating cast of collaborators to create a unique brand of experimental indie rock. The band has been releasing singles in anticipation of its debut EP, "Out At Sea," due this summer. Liu and SMV previously formed the core of RENMINBI, a trio founded in 2003 that released three EPs (most recently, in July 2009, "Surface") and one full-lIngth album (in May 2008, "The Phoenix").
http://www.renminbinyc.com/
http://www.myspace.com/renminbi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOnxxgLOZA
North America's first and only Nakashi [Taiwanese burlesque] surf rock band from Charlottesville, Virgina. Led by Wendy Hsu. (Taiwanese American)
Band Bio:
Dzian! (pronounced "ze-an"; 贊!, "super-cool!" in Taiwanese) [please say our name with your thumbs up] is Charlottesville’s new, one and only NAKASHI* band. We play a fine selection of your favorite (and obscure) 1960s surf and garage rock songs from Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, France, the US, and many more.
*Nakashi is a style of Taiwanese burlesque circa 1930s-1980s employed for social functions. Over time it morphed into a semi-participatory karaoke format.
http://www.myspace.com/dzianband
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmtwtj2C1Jc
Notorious MSG
Straight off the streets of NYC's Chinatown, The Notorious MSG are three renegade restaurant workers on a mission to blow your asses out with their high-sodium beats. One of the member Down-Lo Mein is from Taiwan.
Band Bio:
Straight off the streets of NYC's Chinatown, The Notorious MSG are three renegade restaurant workers on a mission to blow your asses out with their high-sodium beats. After years of struggling in the kitchens, Hong Kong Fever, Down-Lo Mein and the Hunan Bomb found salvation in music. Hell-bent on revenge, they formed a band and the deep-fried force of nature called The Notorious MSG were born.
http://notoriousmsg.com/
http://www.myspace.com/notoriousmsg
New York Taiwanese Folk Drums & Arts Troupe
NYTFDAT Is a unique performance troupe specializing in traditional Taiwanese temple performances. The troupe provides an unsurpassed experience for the audiences by showing the distinctiveness of Taiwanese Culture. Under the tutelage of troupe director and instructor Winston Liao, the troupe hopes to expand the greater awareness of Taiwanese/Taiwanese-American identity by using Taiwan’s unique culture as a point of understanding.
New York Taiwanese Folk Drums & Arts Troupe's performances are of affiliate on with Taiwan's Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Arts Troupe.*
Stage Performances are coordinated by Tai-Ke New York (Find TKNY on Facebook)
Participating Organizations
FAPA: Formosan Association for Public Affairs
TAP: Taiwanese American Professionals
Taiwan Tzu-Chi Foundation
Taiwan Tribune
Fresh Air Fund
North America Pingtung Association
TACEC: Taiwanese American Conference - East Coast
Auxiliary Police
NATWA: North American Taiwanese Womens' Association
Delicacies
Here are some files if you want to help to publicize the event.