International Examiner December 18, 2013

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FREE EST. 1974 — SEATTLE VOLUME 40, NUMBER 23 — DECEMBER 18, 2013 – JANUARY 7, 2014

THE NEWSPAPER OF NORTHWEST ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. FIND YOUR INSPIRASIAN.

GUAM: INJUSTICE AMERICAN MARIANA ISLANDS RESIST U.S. OPPRESSION | 9

YUNA ZARAI ON MAKING MUSIC | 10

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS | 14

2 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE OPINION

Ending the APA diabetes trend starts at your plate

By Michael Corsilles IE Columnist

be an emotional eater. Unfortunately, the food we do overeat is never broccoli. It’s usually starchy carbs like breads, rice, and sugar—all of which raise our levels of dopamine, the “feel-good” brain chemical.

Look for healthier ways to deal with stress instead of turning to comfort foods.

The “supersizing” of American’s diets and waistlines is evidenced by larger drink sizes in coffee shops (what happened to “short” sizes?), fast food chain supersize meals, and extra meat and noodle options at local noodle restaurants. And our obsession with bigger meals goes hand-inhand with the rise in type 2 diabetes.

It wasn’t long ago that type 2 diabetes used to be called “adult onset” diabetes because you developed it later in life. But it’s occurring more often in our overweight children. One in three Americans are now obese and this growth doesn’t exclude Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), according to 2011 studies by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. For APAs, it’s not I want to enlighten you with some habitsimply environmental—there’s a genetic forming routines to help with type 2 component. Type 2 diabetes is actually diabetes. higher in APAs compared to Caucasians.

1. Eat healthier more often. Ditch that There are differences among APA daily grande mocha and blueberry muffin ethnicities as well. In Hawai‘i, for fix. If you’re going to do it, try limiting example, Native Hawaiians are five times your coffee and muffin intake to only as likely as whites living in Hawai‘i three times a week (or less!). Just make a to die from diabetes, according to the decision to eat healthy at least 80 percent U.S. Deptartment of Health and Human of the time, or just have a cheat day.

Services’ Office of Minority Health. Moderation is key.

Filipinos in Hawai‘i have more than three 2. Start with ten minutes of exercise times the death rate as whites living there. every day. For the people who say there While people may know that type 2 diabetes is bad—so bad that it can damage your heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and shorten your life span—many aren’t doing much to improve diabetes. Why is this?

It’s the same reason why more Americans continue to gain weight: Establishing a good diet, exercise, and weight loss routine isn’t easy. We know what we should do to get healthy, but we just don’t do it.

Most realize that eating less and exercising more will help you lose weight, and in turn improve type 2 diabetes. The hard part is figuring out how to do that consistently. Remember that slow and steady builds a great habit. Start slow with the suggestions I provided, and remember it’s okay to cheat every now and then.

Making changes is never easy. If it were, 5. Be aware of emotional eating. We then type 2 diabetes wouldn’t be at an live in a society of foodies, where it’s now all time high. Talk to your health care fashionable to eat out and even take selfies provider for more information. with our food. Eating out with friends Dr. Michael Corsilles, ND, PA-C, currently is fine, but if you find you crave foods practices as a naturopathic physician and a is no time for exercise, you need to make in certain situations like when you’re physician assistant in Bellevue. time. During your lunch break, walk five stressed, anxious or depressed, you may minutes in one direction, then walk five minutes back. Eventually ten-minute walks will turn into twenty-minute walks.

3. Eat smaller, frequent portions through the day to regulate blood sugar, and, more importantly, to control cravings. Restaurant portions have gone through the roof. Instead, think of half being The problem with making healthy the new whole. Split a meal with a friend, or lifestyle changes and sticking to them is take half home for later. It’ll be cheaper too! that we live in a “microwave” society. We 4. Eat off a smaller plate. An equal are used to instant, immediate results. So serving of noodles that “looks” miniscule

IE STAFF

Established in 1974, the International Examiner is the only non-profit pan-Asian American media organization in the country. Named after the International District in Seattle, the “IE” strives to create awareness within and for our APA communities. 622 South Washington Street, Seattle, WA 98104. (206) 6243925. iexaminer@iexaminer.org.

Photo by Petr Kratochvil

6. Keep track of what you eat. Food journaling can double the pounds lost compared to those who don’t track eating habits, according to the Kaiser Permanente Center for Research. I recommend not to track using a spreadsheet or the newest app.

Use old school pad and paper. Anytime food or liquid goes in your mouth, write it down. If it’s a hassle to jot this down every time, you’ll adjust to something healthier rather than writing it down!

IE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joyce Zhou, President Gary Iwamoto, Vice President Arlene Oki Andy Yip ADVISOR Ron Chew DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Kathy Ho advertising@iexaminer.org

on a 12-inch dinner plate can actually be a satisfying meal when eaten on a smaller plate, according to a 2012 study, “Plate Size and Color Suggestibility: The Delboeuf Illusion’s Bias on Serving and Eating Behavior,” by K. Van Ittersum and B. Wansink in the Journal of Consumer Research.

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INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 3

IE OPINION

Too common: Fear, shame keeps APIs from mental health help

By Hannah Moon IE Columnist My brother was 29 when he was first sent to a mental hospital and was diagnosed as bipolar. The police had found him outside NASA in Houston, disoriented and barefoot, pretending to be an astronaut.

While the news of my brother being hospitalized was shocking, it also put me in a strange kind of ease. Finally, he was getting psychiatric help and my parents, Korean immigrants, had to accept the fact that he was sick.

Ever since I was eight years old, I sensed that something was troubling my older brother.

He was sleeping about twelve hours a day, an inordinate amount for an otherwise healthy teenager. He gained weight, his face became bloated like a full moon, and he seemed to live in a perpetual groggy haze.

When he was awake, he was quick to get angry. Big fights happened about things like peanut butter. He didn’t like the smell of peanut butter, and once when he detected it on my breath, he went into an ugly tirade and knocked my head against a door.

Our parents weren’t fully aware of what was happening. My dad worked in Korea, and my mom, a doctor, spent long hours at the hospital, often staying overnight. We never had any babysitters, because my brother, who is six years older than I am, was trusted to take care of things around the house, me included.

One day, when my mother and I were alone, I told her that my brother should see a psychiatrist.

“Your brother’s not crazy,” my mother said.

“He’s just going through a phase. He’ll be okay when he gets older.”

“No, I think he really needs a psychiatrist,” I said.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” my mother said. “If he sees a psychiatrist, it goes on record forever and everyone will know. He’ll have trouble getting a job later.”

I’d seen Oprah Winfrey on TV introduce psychiatrists and psychologists to couples having marital problems, to pregnant teens, to a crying woman mourning the death of her cat. To me, it seemed like half of America was getting psychiatric help. But then again, maybe my mother was right. What did I know? I was only eight.

As my brother’s problems grew, my mother remained silent. Being proud and reserved, she kept our domestic problems hidden, even from my dad, who received only good news during short, long-distance phone calls.

After a while, my mother and I forgave my brother for his violent episodes and tacitly accepted the sight of him sleeping in the middle of the day.

Years later, I would marvel at how my mother, a medical doctor, had such a backward view on psychiatry. But research shows that our story is not unusual. According to the American Psychiatric Association, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the least likely of ethnic groups to seek help for mental disorders, because of cultural values of reservation and fear or shame. When Asian Americans do use mental-health services, they display more severe symptoms than other groups, precisely because they’ve delayed seeking treatment. Despite being viewed as a “model minority,” APIs face many of the same mental health problems as other groups, with high rates of addiction, gambling, and family violence.

As an OB-GYN, my mother viewed psychiatry as soft science. The health of the mind was obvious to her. Her own life had proven that if you studied and worked hard, you’d attain wealth and success. And naturally, those things would lead to happiness. Or do they?

My mother’s fear that my brother would have trouble getting a job came to be true. Not because he finally saw a psychiatrist, but because he doesn’t get the treatment he needs.

He’s not a criminal, and he doesn’t own a gun, but he gets into all sorts of trouble with the police because of his manic, violent episodes.

I wish my brother would see his bipolar illness for what it is. I asked him, “If you had cancer, you would Photo by Petr Kratochvil take medication, and you would do something about it, wouldn’t you?”

He replied that he doesn’t have cancer and that the analogy is stupid.

In spite of all the fights we’ve had throughout the years, I know he has a good heart. One day, close to the holidays, my brother showed me a pickle jar filled with coins amassed from previous months.

“Guess how much I got?” he asked excitedly.

I shrugged.

“Come on, guess,” he said. “It’s more than you’d think.”

“I don’t know. Twenty dollars?” I said.

“Forty-seven dollars!” he said.

“Wow,” I said, trying to match his cheerful tone.

That forty-seven dollars was all my brother had. His disability check wouldn’t come for six more days. But that night, despite my protests, my brother took me to a restaurant and bought me a burger and fries.

I wanted to pay, but he’s my big brother, and it didn’t matter that he’s poor or sick. He’s my big brother, and he wanted to treat me. He insisted I get dessert.

Guiuan: Red Cross volunteers off-load boxes of household essentials at the Guiuan relief distribution site.

Photo by ICRC/Brecht Goris

Typhoon Haiyan: Philippine Red Cross actively connecting families

By Cody Austin IE Guest Columnist In the frightening moments during armed conflict or natural disaster, families often lose contact with each other. In collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and more than 180 national societies, the American Red Cross can help families living in the United States reconnect with their loved ones through our Restoring Family Links program.

Nationally, the American Red Cross helps deliver an average of 4,000 international messages to families each year. Your local Red Cross chapter can help locate missing loved ones during and after disasters like Typhoon Haiyan.

The Philippine Red Cross is actively working to reconnect families separated by the typhoon. They have set up 29 welfare desks in affected communities to help people find missing family members and provide emotional support. The Philippine Red Cross has currently received more than 35,000 family tracing cases. If you or someone you know are still looking for a missing family member in the Philippines, please remember that many phones lines are still down. Families in the United States can go to http://familylinks.icrc.org/yolanda-typhoon/ to search for loved ones or list them as missing. The Philippine Red Cross responders are actively gathering information on persons who are safe and well and updating the “I am alive” listings on this website. Families can check the website regularly for updates.

Individuals trying to contact U.S. citizens, in addition to consulting the abovementioned website, should be referred the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, through their Task Force Alert system (https://tfa. state.gov/ccd/) or by calling 1-888-407-4747. Due to logistical challenges, finding people in the Philippines is still a slow process. Please continue trying to reach your family members through your regular communication channels. Additional resources include the Philippines embassy (http://philippinesusa.org/haiyan/) and Google Person (http://google.org/personfinder/2013-yolanda).

If you have any questions about reconnecting with family members affected by the typhoon, or about other Red Cross Restoring Family Links services, please contact Cody Austin at cody.austin@redcross.org or 206.726.3554.

Cody Austin is the AmeriCorps, International Services Coordinator of American Red Cross Serving King & Kitsap Counties.

4 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE COMMUNITY Snapshots in Time

Share your own snapshots in time with IE readers. Send in a memorable photo that you have taken and a message granting the IE permission to publish the photo to editor@iexaminer.org with the subject line “Snapshots in Time.”

Q:

How do you know if you’re born to be an entrepreneur?

A:

Seattle entrepreneur Brian Ma says you must have irrational optimism

By Maureen Francisco IE Contributor

“That’s never going to work.”

“You’re wasting your time.”

That kind of feedback would leave Brian Ma unscathed. Instead, the Hong Kong native would say “you’re wrong.”

Today, the 28 year old can now add successful acquisition to his portfolio.

As the cofounder of Decide.com, a price-alert tool that tells you when Ma to buy, his company has now been acquired by eBay. It wasn’t too long ago though IE: Before starting Decide.com, you were when Ma lived at his parents’ house, didn’t take part of the start-up team at Zillow.com, on a salary for two years, and snuck away to eat which was a no name at that time. When samples at Costco as a way to save money.

Zillow grew to 250 people, that’s when you Now, the successful business owner, who realized it was the right time to launch your never got his high school diploma but double own entrepreneurial journey.

USO Car Club President Thach Nguyen, Lee Greer, and Santa Claus posing for a holiday picture. USO (the Samoan word for blood brother) clubs nationwide attract “low-riders” of all ethnicities. In Seattle, Nguyen and others channeled the club’s activities into community service. • Photo by Brandon Woo, 1995.

majored in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering with a minor in Math from the University of Washington, is often asked to give advice to other entrepreneurs. The International Examiner caught up with Ma for the inside scoop.

International Examiner: Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Brian Ma: Yes, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to someday dream big and convince a bunch of people to dream big with me in order to make a massive impact on the world. I didn’t know what that meant, what it was even called, or how it would all work out back in high school, but I’m glad there’s a legitimate career path out there that helped me achieve that.

IE: How did Decide.com come to be?

Ma: Decide.com grew out of a series of fortunate serendipitous “aha” moments. At one point in our hack-all-day-in-basement adventure, I was sitting next to my girlfriend (now wife) Jessica and was completely perplexed at why she had a hundred bookmarks at various clothing retailers. It turns out she checks them every single day to catch sales on items she wanted. Being the geek I was, I decided to bring the problem up to my founding team and within a weekend, we built a site to save her all that work.

IE: When did you realize that you had created something “special” with your company?

Ma: A couple things came together all around the same time that helped us realize we were onto something: 1. Our price alert tool we built over a weekend was growing completely organically—people would use it, tell their friends, and within a couple weeks, we were tracking thousands of products. We were also really surprised with how many of our users immediately purchased the products after receiving their price drop emails.

2. After graphing all the price changes, we were shocked at how many times prices change per day (up to 20 times on sites like Amazon).

You could literally save hundreds of dollars by waiting 15 minutes. With our data crunching background and a couple more months, we developed an algorithm to predict these prices, which turned out to be surprisingly accurate.

Ma: Eggsprout was the first concept that came out of that—data-mining resumes to help people figure out the next step in their careers. That failed after two years of furiously working non-stop, unpaid in the basement with some of the brightest guys I know, and we made a massive pivot to what eventually became Decide.com.

IE: You’ve always known you were going to be an entrepreneur. How do you know if you have what it takes to be one?

Ma: 1) You think you can take on and disrupt entire industries even though everyone says you’re out of your mind.

2) You’re ok with working without a paycheck and crazy long for years just because you believe so much in your idea. Vacations and dinner with friends cause you anxiety because you’re not working.

3) You can pick yourself back up after an investor backs out, your cofounders leave you, your traffic flat-lines for months, your competitors overtake you, you need to fire a friend, and all the other horrible things that happen 80 percent of the time in the typical startup day-to-day.

IE: With that said, you also believe every single person has the ability to be an entrepreneur.

Ma: Most just haven’t developed that muscle yet. The first step is to step into the gym, pick that dumbbell up, realize how not fit you are and how sore you get, then come back again the next day … and the day after that.

IE: Today, you are often approached with pitches and ideas. What gets you excited?

Ma: I personally like really big consumer plays that preferably have something to do with analyzing a bunch of data. If you like video games, ride motorcycles, or play boardgames, that helps too. I also really like cheap Chinese food. Haha.

Ma will be speaking at an Ascend event on January 16, about “How to Succeed as an Entrepreneur.” The event is at the Bellevue Marriott located at 11010 NE 8th Street.

The fireside chat is free for Ascend Members and $30 for Non-Ascend members, which includes light appetizers, drinks, and parking (if available).

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the event ends at 8:00 p.m. To register, visit http://goo.gl/pikPB2.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 5

IE COMMUNITY

Seattle educator Wayne Au challenges us to examine our curriculums and alternatives

By Na Young Kwon IE Contributor Seattle educator Wayne Au envisions the public school arena as having “tremendous potential for creating positive social change and promoting social justice.” It’s a perspective that brings well-deserved attention to the potential of our youth in public schools. Au puts this perspective into practice in his teaching, his curriculums, and his writing.

Au’s book Critical Curriculum Studies: Education, Consciousness, and the Politics of Knowing (Routledge, 2012) provides thought-provoking analyses of traditional educational models while offering alternatives that reflect the growing diversity in American public schools. He recognizes marginalized groups not exclusively in terms of race, but also in economic, political, and social contexts. According to Au, school curriculums often reflect the power struggle in the greater community, thus shaping our identity and outlook upon the world.

Currently, Au is an assistant professor in education at the University of Washington, Bothell.

His course subjects include multicultural studies, educational policy, and graduate courses for teachers in secondary education. Au introduced an undergraduate course in hip-hop music and education.

The hip-hop genre has a rich cultural, historical and political history that can also “make classroom spaces that honor students’ authentic selves … [and serve as] one entrance among many to engage African American and Latino students,” Au said.

Au also taught at the Middle College High School, an alternative high school program of the Seattle School District that was based in South Seattle Community College and recently moved to High Point Center. His subjects included language arts and social studies, in which he introduced what he calls a “subversive curriculum.” Part of this curriculum included using sources such as Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, which presents the viewpoints of women, Native Americans, and other marginalized groups in American history.

Au also used role-playing with his students, who reenacted the U.S. Constitutional convention. In this scenario, freed slaves, African Americans, and poor whites might be represented in addition to bankers and politicians. By doing so, Au hoped to provide entry points that were relevant to students’ experiences.

A graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle’s Central District, Au recalled a time in the late-1980s when students within the Seattle School District were bussed to other areas of town in an effort to promote desegregation policies.

“I was from Green Lake, but I would take a 45-minute bus ride to Garfield every day.” Conversely, students in the Central District commuted to other Au areas as well. The school also offered Advancement Placement (A.P.) as well as “regular” classes, a form of “tracking” described in his book: “Tracking is the practice of sorting students based on perceived abilities or occupational goals.”

Ironically, Au observed that the A.P. classes were eventually comprised of predominantly white students, while the regular classes comprised of poorer and African American students.

“Even though the school itself was supposed to be a desegregation model, inside the school, there was a school within the school,” Au said.

When Au later taught language arts at Garfield, the department was in the process of detracking, or combining students of various levels and skill sets.

“The 9th grade class was mixed,” Au said. “How I approached it would be reconceiving writing … as a process and not just an end product to get students to engage in the process. That means multiple drafts, feedback from peers and teachers, and moving through that process. At the end, you look at each student and ask: ‘Have they grown or progressed? Have they grown as a writer?’”

Au writes in Critical Curriculum of another school’s efforts in de-tracking— in this case, the history department of a Berkeley, California, high school. Although the majority of teachers supported this move toward social equity, they were met with opposition from parents who were concerned about their children’s eligibility in attending elite colleges. These tensions reflect the existing power structures and the ensuing perpetuation of class boundaries amongst students.

While Critical Curriculum appears to draw those in purely academic professions, the book has wide appeal and application. This is attributed partly to the wealth of personal experience that Au has gleaned as a teacher, which he shares in rich anecdotal detail, and his thorough research into the implications of social, political, and historical climates upon human consciousness. With varying degrees, many Americans have been shaped by the public school system. Au challenges us to make connections with educational curriculum and our worldview.

COMMUNITY PROFILE

Wong

Avidian Technologies’ James Wong finds freedom to build a business IE News Services James Wong is a seasoned entrepreneur and founder of three successful companies. He is co-founder and CEO of Avidian Technologies (www.avidian.com), the creators of Prophet, the world leading CRM software built in Outlook. James is a thought-leader, sought after speaker and writer on CRM, Sales Management and groupware applications. He was a regular writer for PCWorld and has been featured in PC Magazine, Small Business Computing, Inc., Entrepreneur, CRM Magazine, Washington Post and other publications. In 2009, he was named by the SLMA as one of the “50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management Professionals.”

Under Wong’s leadership, Avidian was the winner of the Seattle Mayor’s Small Business Award, honored for excellence in management, employee relations and community involvement. Avidian also won three years in a row as one of Washington State’s Fastest Growing Companies and three years in a row as One of Washington’s Best Companies to Work For. Here’s a transcript of Wong’s comments during an interview with the International Examiner (found online at iexaminer.org):

I was born in China and immigrated to Seattle when I was 10 years old. We are a typical first generation immigrant family— my Mom worked as a seamstress in a sewing factory and my Dad was a restaurant worker.

Since I came from poverty and as an immigrant, I’ve always been interested in earning money.

And for me, even as a young kid, sales was the

best way to earn money. I owned a paper route at the age 10, and sold the Beacon Hill News along 15th Avenue. I walked it rain or shine.

And I learned that if I treated our customers well and knocked on their door–instead of them just giving me a $1 (dollar) for ordinary service—if I treated them super well and made sure the newspapers were dry, inside a plastic bag and I addressed them with a Mister or Missus, I would get $1.20 (a dollar twenty). I would get 20 cents (twenty cents) tip.

So most parents tell you to study hard, go to a good college, get a great job. For me, I thought, “Why stop there?” Getting a great job was not enough. I wanted to actually have the freedom to go DO what I wanted to do… which was to build a business.

Avidian Technologies was the third business I founded and I love this business. I’ve been running it for over 11 years now and I can see myself working really hard at this and retiring from it. When I first started Avidian, all we really cared about was selling more software.

However, as we grew—and we were growing so fast, the sixth fastest growing company in Washington state—with all that growth, I think we lost focus on the customer. But now, we’re focusing on what’s important: our customers.

We live and die by happy customers.

Why I love Avidian Technologies is it’s all about our people. We have amazing people who really care about the success of the company. I enjoy coming to work every single day and talking to our customers, to our associates, to our vendors. We feel like we are doing great work around the world.

iexaminer.org

6 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE COMMUNITY

Seattle entrepreneur makes time for children’s fashion, education

By Stephanie Olson IE Contributor

Horita

ArtsFund’s Mari Horita leading the charge for community arts

By Jessica Davis IE Contributor An accomplished musician, civic leader, and former attorney, Mari Horita’s passion for both the arts and serving the community has been a driving force for the Northwest art scene.

In 2012, Horita came on board as president and CEO of ArtsFund, which raises funds to support the arts in King and Pierce County.

“I believe strongly in the mission of ArtsFund, which is to strengthen arts in the region by raising and responsibly allocating funds to promote artistic and organizational excellence and by advocating for all the arts,” Horita said.

further incentivizes individual donors to contribute by providing matching funds.

“Gifts made to arts projects on power2give/ PugetSound have direct and immediate impact in our community,” Horita said. “ArtsFund distributes the funds within 15 days of a project’s completion, reinforcing the immediacy of the connection between donors and projects, and quickly bringing these new funds into the region’s arts and cultural sector.”

Horita has an extensive background in civic and community involvement and has served on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, Japan America Society, the Asian Bar Association of Washington, Washington ArtsFund launched the fundraising web- Appleseed, and Youthcare. Horita currently site Power2give/PugetSound (power2give. serves on the boards of the United Way of org/pugetsound/projects) in October with 36 King County and Densho, an organization participating arts and cultural organizations. whose mission is to promote civil liberties and In just one month, 13 projects reached their preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans funding goals and 415 individuals made dona- who were incarcerated during World War II. tions for a total of $52,135. All donations made As part of the Densho Project, a number of were matched 100 percent due to efforts by the interviews have been conducted with survivors Raynier Institute & Foundation, Amazon, and of the internment over the past 15 years. Horita’s anonymous donors. mother, Lillian Hayashi, was one of many “Power2give/PugetSound is an ongoing interned at Tule Lake and Minidoka. initiative of ArtsFund, and makes giving to the Horita has also served on the board of arts even more accessible,” Horita said. “One Northwest Chamber Orchestra and Seattle of the unique features of Power2give is its Theater Group’s Centerstage Council. Her storytelling capacity, allowing arts groups to interest in the arts began at an early age when share personal and project-specific narratives she learned to play the violin at age six. She has with the community.” played in orchestras such as the Seattle Youth Power2give/PugetSound enables invited arts Symphony, Orchestra Seattle, and the Denver organizations to post and promote projects in Philharmonic. For the past 15 years, she has need of funding up to $7,500, and invites donors played in the string quartet Vina Musica. to contribute tax-deductible donations to those projects most intriguing to them. Projects are listed on the site for a maximum of 90 days, or until they meet their financial goals. ArtsFund

“The arts have always been a huge part of my life,” she said.

For more information about Arts Fund, visit www.artsfund.org.

Ming-Ming Tung Edelman is a first generation Chinese American Seattleite who is bristling with energy, creativity, and a passion for her heritage. That passion has led her on two unique paths as an entrepreneur and as a community activist.

In addition to being a wife and mother, Edelman has been a pharmacist for 17 years. But it was four years ago, however, when Edelman tapped into her creative side as an entrepreneur and created her own clothing line: MiMi Bug Artful Wear.

The clothing line breaks new ground with its interchangeable ribbons and buttons that allow a child to design and make their own unique outfit. The line’s name comes from her Chinese nickname, “little bug,” and you can find her clothing available throughout Seattle toy, gift, and clothing stores.

Edelman’s daughter, Anna, was a main inspiration for the line. Anna has always been creative, Edelman said, and went through a phase where she loved weaving potholders for friends and family.

“We had drawers and drawers of them,” Edelman said. The weaving sparked an idea for her.

With no sewing skills of her own, Edelman began cutting holes in her children’s clothes and weaving ribbons through them.

“I just started playing with different ideas,” Edelman said. “I wanted it to be wearable art, something that kids could do to have fun and be creative while they improve their fine motor skills.”

Edelman chuckled as she recalled what it has been like to start a clothing line with no sewing experience. Early on, she was asked for the industry standard “spec sheet” for her designs. Her response was: “What’s a spec sheet? I just draw my idea and give it to my sewing person and ask for a prototype. Or I take pictures or videos and tell her the measurements.”

Since then, Edelman has returned to school to improve on her raw fashion skills. She began a program this fall at the University of Washington for a Certificate in Fashion.

“I want to learn more about sewing and fashion while I meet other creative people,” Edelman said. “It has been a fun journey.”

And that’s just one half of her current journey. With the clothing line fulfilling her creative side, Edelman took a friend’s advice and started a Seattle chapter of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) in 2011. CACA is one of the oldest civil rights groups in the country.

Started in San Francisco in 1912 to fight discrimination, CACA now has 17 chapters throughout the country. Edelman currently serves as the Seattle chapter’s president.

Her goal for the local chapter is to focus on youth leadership development, community service, and civil rights.

Edelman

CACA is currently working to get more details about Chinese American history, including Chinese Exclusion Acts, into Washington state’s textbooks. To date, CACA has created content for fifth graders about prejudice and the Chinese Exclusion Acts.

Their next goal is to meet with Randy Dorn, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Edelman is not planning to do the talking herself, though.

“We don’t want to say it to him, we want our kids to do it,” Edelman said.

“We’re training them on their history and how to talk to a politician. It’s much more important for him to hear their voices than ours as parents.”

Edelman has also been instrumental in getting the neighborhood youth involved in community service. Student volunteers have also helped to collect and distribute more than 1,000 pounds of rice to Chinese elders in the International District.

“We take our kids with us to weigh, bag, and distribute the rice,” Edelman said.

“They see the Chinese elders getting rice.

It is not just dropped in a box somewhere.”

CACA chose to organize the rice drives because “rice is such a staple of Asian cuisine,” Edelman said. “There is definitely a need. We had one gentleman who waited for two hours for his rice even though he had a voucher and didn’t need to wait.”

In August 2015, CACA’s Seattle chapter will host the organization’s biannual national convention. Edelman said she sees this as an opportunity for Asian Americans from across the United States to visit the Pacific Northwest and learn more about the thriving commercial and political community that Asian Americans have created here.

Stephanie Olson is a writer who lives in Seattle. Her work has appeared on the ParentMap website and on her blog, Ma Swell Vie at www.maswellvie.com.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 7

IE NEWS

One-third of Korean Americans are smokers, study says Young Rae Kim New America Media

free indoor air, a policy that experts say is an effective deterrent to tobacco use. However, a challenge for the Korean American community has been the lax enforcement of secondhand smoking laws. Despite regulations prohibiting smoking in public places in California, it is not uncommon to walk into a Koreatown restaurant or bar and see patrons unabashedly lighting up.

Smoking rates have been steadily declining for decades in the United States, thanks to increased restrictions, higher taxes on tobacco products and effective anti-smoking campaigns in the media and at schools. But for Korean Americans, as well as other Asian communities, the rates have remained at high levels.

That is reason for concern because the three leading causes of death for Korean Americans—cancer, heart disease and stroke—are all associated with smoking.

Smoking is also the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the U.S., accounting for one in five deaths, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The harmful health effects of smoking are common knowledge, and though an estimated 80 percent of Korean American smokers want to quit, according to a recent survey, the addiction has a stronger grip than people realize.

Yet, that picture contrasts sharply with Korean American public opinion at large.

According to the APPEAL report, 83.4 percent of Korean Americans strongly prefer to eat in a smoke-free restaurant, and 96 percent strongly agree or slightly agree that second-hand smoke is harmful.

While having the laws in place is a good step forward in reducing secondhand smoke, Lew emphasizes that it is also important to do grassroots education.

“I think that is a combination of working with Korean community leaders, as well as doing what we call ‘changing the community The Washington State Department of Health said there were very high rates of smoking among Korean and Vietnamese men in norms’ around smoking, so that members comparison to other Asian Pacific Islanders. • File Photo within the Korean communities recognize surveys usually conducted in English, with a new outside of California and has allowed that it is not safe or appropriate to smoke in small number of Asians included. smokers to call in and get information, a public place,” he said.

Mainstream studies also tend to lump telephone coaching and, often, access to free “This takes strong leadership and all Asian groups together, despite the great nicotine replacement medicines that help courage,” said Lew, “and saying no to smokers end their addiction. diversity within the Asian Pacific Islander traditions that need to be broken.” communities. That’s why, he said, it’s The group also advocates for legislation important that research also looks at the banning smoking in public places. Almost This story originally appeared in Koream distinct profiles of AAPI sub-ethnic groups, half of all states currently require smoke- Journal. as the APPEAL report did.

“It’s a tough habit to break. Tobacco use and smoking are an addiction, and I think for the Asian American community, in particular, there are a lot of challenges,” said Rod Lew, the founder and executive director of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), a group that aims to reduce health disparities in the Asian Pacific American community.

APPEAL has been working with APA communities across the country for 20 years, According to that report, an estimated said Lew, trying to build their expertise on one-third of Korean Americans today why there is high tobacco use and ways to are smokers. The study also revealed that counter the trend. second-generation Korean Americans “We need to be able to get messages to are more likely to be smokers than firstthem through resources that are culturally generation Korean Americans. This figure appropriate,” he said. Lew’s group recently was surprising, given the fact that secondreleased an 88-page report that provides generation Korean Americans, having been new data and insights about tobacco use raised in the U.S., were exposed to aggressive among Asian American and Pacific Islander anti-smoking campaigns in the past decades communities, and also discusses effective and, it is assumed, would have a higher approaches to combating smoking in these awareness of the health consequences of communities. tobacco use than the immigrant generation.

The special journal supplement, Promising Lew believes this high rate among the Practices to Eliminate Tobacco Disparities second generation can be explained, in part, Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian by a notable spike in the number of female and Pacific Islander Communities, was done Korean American smokers over the years, in collaboration with the bimonthly health and that increased the overall number. During journal Health Promotion Practice. the height of the tobacco industry’s campaign This is only the second time a report of to target Asian American females, a 1990s this kind, dedicated to AAPI communities, Lorillard Tobacco Company internal memo revealed its corporate strategy to capture this has been released, said Lew. emerging market: “The literature suggests “It’s a historic document that has within that Asian American women are smoking it several articles that talk about what works more as they believe they should enjoy the around tobacco prevention and control in same freedom as men.” Lew suggested that our communities,” he said. we are now experiencing the consequences of One of the more alarming statistics in the tobacco industry’s successful marketing the report is that Asian Americans had the to Asian American females. highest rates of smoking out of any ethnic Anti-tobacco efforts meanwhile are group surveyed in New York City in 2009. not effectively reaching segments of the While most ethnic groups experienced a Asian American community, said Lew. significant drop in smoking rates between “We need to be able to get messages to 2002 to 2010, the smoking rate for Asian them through resources that are culturally men stayed relatively the same, at 17 percent. appropriate,” he said. Informing parents Lew noted, in reality, this number could actually be much higher. Mainstream research studies have estimated that only 9 percent of Asian Americans (men and women) smoke nationally, but Lew says the figure is inaccurate because it is based on

about the harmful impact that smoking has on children has proven an effective tool with Asian American communities. Lew also said APPEAL provides a smokers’ quit phone line that is available in different Asian languages. This development is fairly

“What do we want? $15! When do we want it? Now!”

Photos by Bob Shimabukuro

Top: On December 5, an estimated 100 people demanded raising the minimum wage to $15 as they marched from Tukwila to Hing Hei Park in the International District. They must have been going at a rapid clip because they arrived 20 to 30 minutes earlier than their estimated time of arrival. Marchers dispersed to warm up, huddling up in the bus that accompanied them or visiting some of the neighborhood shops for coffee and snacks. About 20 minutes later, they were joined by another 50 or so in the blistering cold to complete the final leg of the march to Seattle City Hall.

Left: Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Association Executive Director Don Blakeney chats with City Councilwoman-elect Kshama Sawant during a break in the march.

8 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE NEWS

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) enters Apra Harbor, Guam for a scheduled port visit in 2011. • U.S. Navy photo by MCSC Peter Lewis

Guam: Where America’s day begins with injustice

By Dåko’ta Alcantara-Camacho IE Contributor

It’s pretty frustrating having to explain U.S. our generation has U.S. Citizenship—we just History every time I want to go out to dance. don’t get to vote for president.

But that’s just one of the smallest injustices Over 70 years after World War II, the federal For Washington’s 9000-strong Chamorro the Chamorro people face. government refuses to provide reparations to community, getting hassled going into bars is Resilience runs in the blood. the only Americans who lived through enemy just the tip of the warship.

When the U.S. seized Guam in 1899, as a occupation. The United States continues to I’m twenty-two this year and still very new evade responsibility for establishing over to the bar scene. I’m not too big on drinking, part of the U.S.-Spanish War, a navy governor 100 toxic dumpsites (nuclear and chemical was appointed to be the supreme lawmaker of but I think dancing is medicine: the call and weapons) on Guam, an island eight miles response between the beat and my feet, the the island. wide and 31 miles long. sweat, embodying the fearlessness it takes to The governor passed general orders Today, Chamorros enlist and die in the move my body in public. banning our native language, prohibiting military at the highest rates per capita, higher I like to dance, so I’ve become very whistling, banning dancing after 10:00 p.m., than any U.S. state. accustomed to this conversation with the banning interracial marriages. Governor Adelbert Althouse even collected all of the As part of what the White House is calling bouncers: Chamorro books and burned them. the “Pacific Pivot,” Obama plans to move 60 “ID please.”

At a time when Chamorros were not percent of the military to the Pacific.

“Håfa adai! Thank you, here you go.” even considered citizens of the U.S. my In 2009, the U.S. Military released a 10,000 grandfather, like many of his generation, page document, the Draft Environmental (Confused/Disgruntled Face) served in the U.S. Military during World War Impact Statement, detailing the upcoming “I’m sorry sir, I can’t accept your ID, do II. Stationed at Pearl Harbor, he survived the “military build-up.” Part of the plan is to you have your passport?” kamikaze attacks. Hours before the infamous dredge of 70 acres of healthy coral reef to “I do have my passport, but as you can see bombing, Guam was invaded by the Japanese house a Nuclear Air Craft Carrier, build a sir, this ID says Guam USA, Where America’s en route to Hawai‘i. The American military, Missile Defense program and 5-Range Firing predicting the invasion, evacuated all of Complex on an ancient burial ground, seizing Day Begins.” their personnel and dependents, leaving the the entire island of Pågan, and exposing “I see that, but Washington State Law Chamorro people to fend for themselves in a residents to mortars, howitzers, artillery, high requires a valid state ID.” war fought between superpowers. explosive munitions and anti-tank weapons.

Here is the point in the conversation In 1944, American Troops re-invaded After several generations of military where I whip out my smartphone, pull up Guam and carpet bombed the island. Luckily, occupation, subsequent migration and the bookmarked Washington State Liquor the Japanese had interned the Chamorros in attempted assimilation, my family is still not Control Board page with the relevant laws concentration camps, so they survived. After free. After my Grandpa, my dad, his brothers and read out loud: Types of Acceptable ID, the successful, “liberation” of the Chamorros, and so many of my cousins have fought for Driver’s License, Instruction Permit, or I.D. the U.S. seized two-thirds of the island for the freedom of Americans, my family is still Card issued by any U.S. State, U.S. Territory military bases. Ironically, the bombs dropped not free. Even though our bodies have been and District of Columbia. on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombs that poisoned, our language has been outlawed, Most bouncers have been real “cool.” ended World War II, were stored and flown and our land has been stolen, I am alive. I am alive and all generations of my ancestors are “I’ll let you in tonight, but next time bring out of Chamorro land. your passport.”

In 1949, the Guam Assembly walked out alive in me. of session, forcing the federal government to Hu lå’la’la’ ya i pengnga-ta ya i fino’Because, even though I was born in grant self-government and citizenship to the ta ha lå’la’la’ gi guahu. I am living and our America, my Guam ID makes me a little less people of Guam. So unlike our grandparents, traditions, our language live inside of me.

American.

Alcantara-Camacho

With all of this trauma in my body, sometimes I just need to cleanse. On nights when I’m feeling like sweating the radiation out of my system, I’ve got to fight to get into the club.

Well, unless I bring proof of my legitimate citizenship.

I’m frustrated, but not surprised. I’m from Guam USA, where America’s day begins with injustice.

People and organizations all over the world have rallied to oppose the Department of Defense’s proposed “Military Build-Up.” Together we can protect our home. Take Action Now! Visit http://www.arkiology. tv/2013/11/14/take-action/.

This story originally appeared at The Seattle Globalist at seattleglobalist.com.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 9

IE NEWS

Opponents of Mariana Islands military testing fire back on social media

By Margery Cercado IE Contributor

An ‘Our Islands Are Sacred’ Facebook page was made on October 25 and currently has 1,354 “likes.” It states in its description: People all over the world have taken to “The Our Islands Are Sacred campaign aims social networking sites to express outrage over to empower all the people of the Mariana the U.S. military’s plans to house a live-fire Islands and the world to come together to learn training location in the Mariana Islands. more about our islands, and to prevent the According to a proposal by the U.S. military, exploitation of our sacred paradise.” the location would be on the island of Pagan, Supporters of the movement have been which has been uninhabited since 1981 after signing petitions online on sites like change. a volcanic eruption. Activities in the testing org as well as taking photos of people holding facility would include the use of a wide range homemade signs and posting them on the of weaponry and bombs, which according to campaign’s Facebook and Twitter accounts as protestors would endanger the integrity of the well as other networking sites like Instagram island. and Tumblr.

Residents of the Mariana archipelago have Jaynina Prince said she became inspired posted on sites like Facebook and Twitter in by the Our Islands Are Sacred campaign after protest and a campaign has been launched in learning about it on Facebook, and submitted a response to the news; it is called “Our Islands picture of her young son holding a sign that her Are Sacred.” daughter helped create.

Local activist and artist Dåko’ta Alcantara“For me [the campaign] kind of woke me Camacho, who goes by dåko’ta as an artist, up,” said Prince, who explained she was learned of the campaign and became passionate about militarism and studied involved; many of his family members and its effects while in graduate school at the friends are campaign organizers back on the University of Washington, but found less and island. A hip-hop artist, he explained that less time to focus on the topic after “life hit “pretty much all of the music I make is about me; I had a baby, started working and [after the Marianas, [and] is about my relationship hearing about the campaign this year, thought] to the Marianas, so it’s really easy to do a where did those last three years go?” performance that is grounded in the ‘Our From her photo and a poem she also posted, Islands Are Sacred’ campaign.”

Prince and dåko’ta connected and are currently dåko’ta works with the arts collective Arki- working together along with other community ology Edutainment, which does performanc- members to shed light on the movement es and workshops in the Seattle community to locally, which the artist has already been doing bring attention to the movement. around the United States.

Activists bring their cause to Our Islands Are Sacred on Facebook. • Courtesy Photo

“In the last three months I’ve been on tour … in the Midwest [visiting cities like] Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison, [and] Chicago,” he said.

“I did workshops and performances there, raising awareness about the campaign and getting people to sign the petitions online, submit comments to the [U.S. Department of Defense] and pass the word [along].”

Prince said it felt good to be connected to something so important and that she hopes other people become aware and involved.

“It’s good to have a balance of people from all different backgrounds who can bring their unique talents to this [campaign] and help

contribute in whatever way they can,” she said, adding: “I know because we are not right there [on the island], it’s easy to forget what’s going on, but you have to maintain that connection and it’s our home so we have to be the ones who fight for it.”

For more information to support the Our Islands Are Sacred Campaign, visit www.facebook.com/ ourislandsaresacred or Twitter (@OIASMarianas).

Margery Cercado is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. This story was written independently from the preceding article by Dåko’ta Alcantara-Camacho.

10 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE ARTS

SAAFF film screenings announced IE News Services

Malaysian songstress Yuna Zarai on the rise

By Atia Musazay IE Contributor

Remarkably, Zarai’s managed to play the game by her own rules, turning her faith and Malaysian background into her own brand of Yuna Zarai’s sophomore album, Nocturnal, hip, rather than controversy. Both through her is a yummy tropical concoction of fused genres, chic and fun apparel as a well as her continuous tones, and culture. If you haven’t heard of the mixed bag of compositions, Zarai is a constant songstress behind it, you owe it to yourself to get breath of fresh air. acquainted, especially if you believe the music Above all, she’s managed to bring the focus industry should still be about music. to what it’s all about, but so often is not: raw The Malaysian-born Zarai is an ode talent. to globalization. She began her career Q: I know you’re from a musical family independently in 2006 with a Myspace page that has always supported your musical and a strong Malaysian following. The 27 year old walked away from law school to bring her ambitions, but it’s also easy to imagine the breezy beats to Los Angeles three years ago. family pressure to stay in law school, right?

Now, Zarai’s swift rise to fame in the United A: My parents are the best. It was a little bit States is a testament to her genuine lyrics and crazy, I was just going to make music for fun down-to-earth personality. and that’s it. When people started to recognize Her animated tunes—sometimes sunset- me in Malaysia, I was like “Ok! That’s it, I on-a-beach bliss and sometimes urban guess, back to law!” But my dad was so excited tunes of heart-break—come together as with the fact that I could write my own songs elegant, understated pop. Citing Lauryn Hill, and he was the most supportive one. My mom, Tame Impala, and Paul Simon as just a few who was always telling me to do well in school, inspirations behind Nocturnal, songs from the finally said, “Yeah, this could be fun. Why not album range anywhere from bubbly “Falling” just try?” to husky R&B ballad “Escape.” The binding Q: How much did Malaysian culture and thread behind these songs is the warm rhythm, music influence what we hear in Nocturnal? the playful lyrics and Yuna’s dimensional, A: Maybe in two or three songs. I don’t ever-smooth vocals. think the producers that I worked with noticed Having worked with producers such as that they were actually putting it in. I’m close Dutch remixer Robin Hannibal, Incubus’ to all of them and often I’d let them know what guitarist Mike Einziger, and previously I wanted, so when I was in the studio with with Pharrell WIliams, Zarai’s proven she them, I was like “Yeah keep that! I like that can navigate through the pop terrain as an sound!” and they kept it, probably because I indie artist of many genres. She was recently wanted it so bad. So at times, unintentionally featured in soundtracks to the films The the sound is there.

Croods and Savages.

When I was doing this album, my producers On top of that, Zarai does it all in style. added some sounds that were familiar to Donning a vibrant Islamic headscarf, or hijab, me. I felt like “yeah that totally sounds like as her signature piece, she’s always tastefully a ‘kompang’ beat,” which is like a Malay decked out, translating into the launch of her own tambourine used in weddings and can be heard online clothing shop, novemberculture.com.

Zarai

in “I Wanna Go,” so we kept that, or a gamelan sounding instrument in “Falling.”

Q: You divide your time between the United States and Malaysia. What do you miss most about Malaysia when you’re away? What’s your favorite thing about life in America?

A: Malaysia, probably the food. I think if I stayed out here longer than three months without going home for some home-cooked Malaysian meals, I’d go crazy!

What I love about America is that I’m able to be myself and be creative. There’s a lot of inspiration out here, whether it’s the view from on top of the building, or the weather, or the people. I find myself writing songs, sketching and painting when I’m not doing any work out here.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve been given as you’ve pursued your career?

A: Just be yourself, do what you love and stay on the right track. Always take care of your heart because there’s a lot of bad, negative things trying to break into it, and do your best.

Q: What are you doing when you’re not making music?

A: Probably just chilling at home. I love being at home just watching TV, cooking and working on my online store November Culture.

Q: How do you make sure you don’t compromise your beliefs and personality in an environment that values sensationalism over talent?

A: It’s always a scary thing. I’m trying to do music and it happens that it can be the most superficial job if you’re not careful. At the same time you’re trying to not lose your identity. I feel like as long as there are rules and regulations, and I follow them, I can discipline myself and I’ll be fine.

Last week, the Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) announced the schedule of screenings to be held February 6 –9 at Ark Lodge Cinemas in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle.

The 28 films on the program include the best in recent independent cinema by and about Asian Pacific Americans, many of which are making their Seattle premiere at the festival.

Highlights include:

• Raskal Love, a documentary about Boss Crew b-boy Vanna Fut that chronicles how his past as a gang initiate in Pomona, CA, follows him to Seattle, even as he gains fame as a pioneer in Seattle’s bboy scene. The film is director Byron Q’s follow-up to his electrifying 2011 debut, Bang Bang.

• The Seattle premiere of American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, a documentary on the 98-yearold writer, activist and philosopher with roots in radical Black political movements.

The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival.

• An opening night screening of Linsanity, a film that goes behind the headlines to uncover the real story behind basketball sensation Jeremy Lin. The documentary was an official selection at Sundance and South by Southwest in 2013.

• A showcase of LGBTQ films, including the locally produced film R/Evolve, a feature-length film about a newly engaged man whose life and fight for marriage equality is jeopardized upon encountering a radical queer hitchhiker.

• A look at the Seattle labor organizing work of two Filipino-American activists in One Generation’s Time: The Legacy of Silme Domingo & Gene Viernes.

Based on a book by community leader Ron Chew, the film chronicles Domingo’s and Viernes’s fight for workers’ rights and the circumstances of their murders.

• Seeking Asian Female, a strangely compelling love story about an aging white man with “yellow fever” and the young Chinese woman he finds online.

The film has won numerous awards, including Best Feature Documentary at the 2012 San Diego Asian Film Festival.

For the full schedule, visit seattleaaff. org/2014/schedule.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 11

IE ARTS

Much more than a get-down: APIs unite at Reign Supreme breakin’ competition

By Minh Nguyen IE Contributor Friday, December 5, 5:00 p.m.—The International District dims as a fogged dusk envelopes the streets and a windchill sweeps with a swiftness that cuts through your coat. On 6th & King, The Beacon dance studio glows with light and heat. Inside, the space is packed tight with high-spirited people socializing and dancing with precision to the hip-hop beats as newcomers arrive in a steady influx, shrugging off their outerwear and backpacks. The occasion is Reign Supreme. The cold, so engulfing seconds ago, is now nowhere.

Reign Supreme, organized by the University of Washington Hip Hop Student Association (UWHHSA), is “the Northwest’s premier crewon-crew breakin’ competition.” That night, more than a hundred b-boys and b-girls from various homebases showed up to duke it out for a $3,000 cash prize. Each competitor received a handful of time to showcase their moves before a row of stone-faced judges, renowned dancers themselves, for a spot in the finals.

The ages in the room varied widely, from 10 year-old Shawn of the Seattle-based Art of Movement crew, to more seasoned breakers who’ve lived through several waves of the culture.

“I was around the scene long before I started breakin’ in 2011 at 26,” said b-girl Miss Steezy One from San Francisco.

From the prelims, 16 dancers and 16 crews were chosen to advance.

Already a heavyweight in its second year, Reign Supreme is the largest event of the UWHHSA, where UW student Jordan Faralan currently serves as club president. Faralan is the latest in a line of torch-bearers passed on by original UWHHSA founder Mike Huang, who started the club in a dorm with his roommates in 2007. After a successful breakdancing competition called Claws Out a few years back, the club and its following has flourished.

Reflecting the breakdancing demographic of the Northwest, Reign Suprme was primarily comprised of people of color, namely Asian Pacific Islanders. For this writer personally, seeing APIs with ink-adorned necks and knuckles seamlessly pop-and-lock with a brutal coolness was immensely pleasurable; the sight was a refreshing juxtaposition to the mainstream’s enduring representation of Asians as uncoordinated dweebs, the antitheses of cool.

But the question endures: Why is there a large draw to breakdancing for Northwest

B-boys and b-girls bring their best to Reign Supreme. • Photos by Robert Lim

APIs? Huang offers the explanation that “the heart of breakdancing in Seattle is in the Asian American community as BOSS Crew, a largely Filipino dance crew, were the predecessors of Massive Monkees, also a predominately Asian American dance crew, who are one of the most influential breaking crews in the Northwest, if not the world.”

said b-boy Mango. “How are you gonna do something and not know the history of it?” he said.

The finals took place in the UW HUB Ballroom, newly built and with an expansion of glossy wood flooring that just beckons footwork. Battles of the night gradually whittled down competition and built to the Because breakdancing is an art form that climatic head-to-heads where ultimately, rose from “youth coming from nothing and b-boy Gravity from New York claimed the being something through their own means,” 1-on-1 title, and Fresh Descendants the crew Huang continued, “breakdancing is liberating battle title. There was also an insanely fun for minority groups. That’s powerful for Asian “7-to-Smoke Openstyles” competition, where Americans who sometimes lack a voice in Federal Way-based dancer Furgaan came on the community or don’t necessarily relate to top. what’s going on in their greater communities.”

Dance, like sports and other art forms, is near Furthering the analysis, Faralan said that impossible to encapsulate in words, because breakdancing “comes easy [to APIs] because it ditches verbal language for an expression of our roots in martial arts and cultural dance.” more fluid and honest. The experience of The circumstances that birthed hip hop watching dance doesn’t appeal to the intellect, and b-boying, stresses Tacoma-based b-boy but somewhere else first, somewhere more Mango, is crucial information because “it’s primordial. This feeling, no doubt felt by important for people to know the value of what everyone at The Beacon and the Ballroom, is the Gorilla Glue in a community, the psychic they’re doing.” stuff that binds people together through the This origin Mango and Huang reference worst of turbulence. For me, RS was a reminder zooms us back to the ‘70s in Sedgwick, NY, to that if history tells us anything about how we DJ Kool Herc’s house parties where he created live in present day, it’s that sharing art with looped breakbeats, the sonic backdrop for those you love is indispensable in a strategy for some serious get-down. collective sustainment. Among the physical For DJ Kool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant maneuvers, dexterity, and vibrating loop who grew up among black and brown graffiti breaks is a palpable sense of community that artists and dancers in the West Bronx, he my trite descriptions can only butcher. and his friends were both announcing to the B-boy Jin from New York echoed those dominant society that “we’re out here,” as sentiments: “The love and the continuation to well as “we don’t care if want to dance never ends. I have been dancing you know it, because we for 10 years and I think the longest break I ever perform for ourselves.” took was barely two weeks.”

According to music writer “What’s truly hard to describe”, said b-boy Greg Tate, what they were doing was “reverse Mango, “is the pure experience of it all.” colonization.”

The robust UWHHSA has events year-round With this history, break- that showcase talented artists, “attempting dancing becomes more to exemplify each of the five elements of hip than a gorgeous craft but hop: dance, graffiti, emceeing, DJing, and also a testament of defiance knowledge.” Watch for the Fresh Fit Fashion against segregation, pov- Show in the winter, Hip Hop Summit in the erty, and violence. Dancers Spring, and don’t miss these ambitious, need to know the historical brilliant, and talented young people who are weight of this culture and not only safeguarding a cultural history but what they’re representing, scribing their names on it in gold.

12 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE NEWS

ICHS offers health coverage help IE News Services The International Community Health Services (ICHS) offers free help to Washington residents to enroll or answer questions about health coverage options through Washington Healthplanfinder.

“ICHS has certified in-person assisters in the International District and Holly Park clinics, and at community venues to help raise awareness about the Affordable Care Act and help people enroll in free or low cost health care insurance options,” said Michael McKee, Director of Health Services and Community Partnerships at ICHS. “We have assisted more than 3,900 patients and residents in applying for coverage since the initiative began.”

Enrollment appointment dates at ICHS are already scheduled out to the end of February 2014, but the agency is training additional staff to meet the growing demand for this service.

“There is still lingering confusion about the Affordable Care Act and how this impacts individuals and families,” McKee said. “Our ultimate goal is for everyone in our community to get access to quality healthcare without them worrying that it will drain their financial resources.”

This free service is part of a national outreach strategy led by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC (Advancing Justice-AAJC) to enroll as many qualified Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders as possible. This effort is also supported locally by Public Health—Seattle and King County.

ICHS is a one-stop health care agency that offers quality and affordable health services —including medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, outreach, and healthy living assistance—in more than 50 languages and dialects. On average, the agency sees about 19,000 unduplicated patients a year.

Last day to enroll in health insurance is March 31, 2014. Failure to get coverage may result in fines. Visit wahealthplanfinder.org for more information or to enroll on your own. Call ICHS at 206.788.3700 to set an appointment.

What’s your dish?

Chicken curry lunch box from Henry’s Taiwan Kitchen (502 S. King St. in the International District) is a sweet deal for a big meal at $9.80. Only available for lunch.

What’s your dish?

The IE wants to know what your favorite dish is in the International District. 1) Take a pic. 2) Say what it is, where you got it, and how much it costs. 3) Send it in to editor@iexaminer.org with the subject line “ID Dish.”

Human rights project to aid torture survivors IE News Services Lutheran Community Services Northwest, with Northwest Immigrant together

College of Physicians for years of work in refugee communities.

“This grant enables us to deliver the indepth, holistic support necessary for refugees and victims of torture,” said Dr. Jackson. “It allows us to focus on torture in a manner not previously available to our clinic. In addition to providing primary care, we can now offer evaluations for patients outside of our clinic system, address the legal needs of asylees Administered by the U.S. Office of and refer patients to our partners for mental Refugee Resettlement, the grant offers the health assessments on an as-needed basis.” necessary funding for the newly formed Since 1982, the IMC has received waves of Northwest Health and Human Rights new immigrants, aided in their acculturation (NWHHR) project, to provide a threepronged approach to torture survivor support and adapted its own register to cater to through medical consultation, mental health the unique geographic and historic set of treatment and legal social services. Since its issues specific to each patient. With one establishment last year, the NWHHR project of the nation’s largest interpreter services has helped improve the health and well- departments, Harborview has a staff that being of hundreds of torture survivors in speaks 20 languages, and contracts for an the region with plans to extend their service additional 60 languages. It is also home to one of the nation’s first cultural mediation throughout the state of Washington. programs, which has been in place for 18 Beth Farmer, the Principal Investigator years. of the coalition and a Licensed Clinical In addition, the clinic offers alternative Social Worker for the International Counseling and Community Services healing services, such as acupuncture and (ICCS) program at Lutheran Community massage, for immigrants and refugees Services Northwest, directs the coalition unaccustomed to Western healing methods. and assists with the mental health branch As a subsidiary to a world-renowned Level of the NWHHR project. This past year, 1 adult and pediatric trauma center, the she received the 2012 Community Health clinic also refers patients to Harborview’s Leaders Award from the Robert Wood specialists in trauma, rehabilitation, and Johnson Foundation for her work with related care. refugees and survivors of torture.

In observance of United Nations’ Human “The majority of our clients face many Rights Day, the NWHHR project partners challenges when they come to the United reflects on their accomplishments this past States,” said Farmer. “They have to learn year and the increasing demand for their a new language and navigate complex services in the coming years. government systems, all while coping “We are beginning to educate trainees with their traumatic experiences. It is and providers in the broader region, said extremely common for survivors of torture Dr. Jackson. “Through educational talks to suffer depression or Post-Traumatic Stress and resources, we are putting torture and Disorder.” its sequelae on the radar of other specialty Lutheran Community Services has been providers.” working to address the mental health and This is especially timely, as the U.S. will adjustment needs of refugees for over 20 receive an estimated 70,000 refugees this years by offering bicultural and bilingual year. mental health services. The ICCS program Washington State accepts thousands of provides trauma treatment, individual refugees each year, ranking 9th in the nation counseling, case management, psychiatric according to U.S. immigration statistics in medication and management, support 2012.

Many refugees are survivors of torture groups and other services to those affected by war, oppression, torture and persecution. from war-torn countries such as Burma, Through their regional consultations, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia.

ICCS has made innovations in mental In addition, many victims of torture seek health screening for recent refugee arrivals asylum and have no other access to medical, that has filled a critical gap in the refugee mental health, or legal aid. Over half of the refugees that relocate to Washington resettle resettlement process. throughout King County; others live just NWIRP, the legal branch of the outside Seattle city limits. coalition, provides the only comprehensive As the coalition evolves, it will provide immigration legal services to low-income training to educate nurses, physicians, immigrants, refugees and victims of torture mental health professionals, and lawyers in in Washington State. They conduct in-depth asylum intakes and provide informed legal cultural competency and torture. Eventually, services through direct representation or it will forge additional partnerships with and support from similar support programs referrals. for torture victims nationwide, fostering a Dr. J. Carey Jackson, Medical Director of globally-oriented service corps dedicated to the IMC, oversees the medical branch and supporting the growing number of refugees serves as a liaison to other related resources and immigrants in the United States. at Harborview Medical Center. He received Article compiled by Northwest Health the 2013 Internist of the Year Award from and Human Rights Project. the Washington Chapter of the American Rights Project (NWIRP) and Harborview Medical Center’s International Medicine Clinic (IMC) received a $319,000 grant to form a coalition between health workers, physicians, and lawyers to provide treatment and care for survivors of torture.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 13

IE COMMUNITY Two new members elected to International Special Review District Board IE News Services Results for the International Special Review District Board elections held on Tuesday, November 19 were recently announced. Three positions were decided.

• Joann Ware won Position #1 for a District business person, property owner, or employee.

Ware works for InterIm CDA on community-based design projects and affordable housing.

• Ben Grace won Position #2 for a resident, tenant, or community participant. Grace is involved in the Chinatown Historical Alley Project. Earlier this year, Grace led the project to translate street signs in Chinatown and Japantown (Nihonmachi). Grace is also an employee of the Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA).

Zenyu Healing New Year’s celebration welcomes all IE News Services This New Year’s Eve, over a hundred Seattleites are expected to ring in 2014 in a new way—using guided meditation, music, and a crowd-sourced fashion show to inspire their actions for the next year at Zenyu Healing’s Shine. The event is hosted by Zenyu Healing, a grassroots organization in South Seattle that leads meditations and wilderness immersions for LGBTQI people of color.

File Photo

Project, a leadership development program which will launch in 2014. The Heritage Project will bring a diverse cohort of Seattlelites together to develop a stronger understanding of their culture and heritage through oral histories, ancestry research, language, and art. This new program continues Zenyu’s mission of racial justice and leadership development.

The creation of Zenyu was inspired by Guiao’s own experiences of racism and The event, which is open to all people, will homophobia in the spiritual spaces she be held at Hiawatha Loft (843 Hiawatha Place practiced. Guiao had to both come out as South). Doors open at 8:00 p.m. and festivities queer in spiritual spaces and come out will go till 2:00 a.m. Alcohol and food will as spiritual in social justice and political be available by donation. The event is family spaces. Zenyu works at the intersection of friendly. The fashion show will showcase both of those unique identities to provide different fashion styles, body-types and a space oriented towards healing, personal families (multiracial, straight, and LGBTQ). growth, and community building with “The purpose of this event is to honor people’s queer people of color and allies alike. desire for celebration and transformation,” “Our constituents often find that in their said Zenyu’s Executive Director Christine families and ethnic communities, they Cruz Guiao. “What Zenyu Healing offers is face homophobia, while in the mainstream a chance to do more than just set intentions, LGBTQI community they face racism,” it is an opportunity to put our intentions into Guiao said. “Luckily, this is not the case practice in our everyday life. There are many for everyone, but because of this we saw things we want to do, and now is the time.” the need for a space that supports people The theme of this year’s event is “Shine: a for all of who they are, which includes their fun and meaningful celebration of community, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. Zenyu is spiritual connection and social justice.” The that space.“ event will raise funds for Zenyu’s Heritage

• Carol Leong won Position #4 for a resident, tenant or community participant. Leong is part of the third generation of her family to live, work, or volunteer in the Chinatown/International District. She has participated in the Seattle Chinese Athletic Association (SCAA) and the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team. For the past 15 years, she has served as the volunteer coordinator of Sifu David F. Leong’s Northwest Kung Fu and Fitness, where she has participated in the Chinatown Parade and served as a scholarship coordinator and youth mentor. She is also involved with the neighborhood Block Watch.

Ware will begin serving a second term, and new board members Grace and Leong will begin their terms in December.

In 1973, the International Special Review District Board was created to preserve, protect and enhance the cultural, economic and historical qualities of the District. The Board is composed of seven members — five elected by the Chinatown International District community and two appointed by the Mayor. Board members’ terms are for two years, and members may serve up to two consecutive terms.

The current board members are Candace Chin, Ben Grace, Carol Leong, Miye Moriguchi, Martha Rogers, and Joann Ware. There is a current vacancy. Outgoing board members are Ching Chan and Marvin Rosete.

The International Special Review District is coordinated by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Historic Preservation Program, which is responsible for the designation and protection of more than 400 historic structures, sites, objects, and vessels, as well as eight historic districts located throughout the city.

The district was established by the City of Seattle through an ordinance in 1973 to preserve the district’s unique Asian American character and to encourage rehabilitation of areas for housing and pedestrian-oriented businesses. The Seattle Chinatown National Register Historic District is located within the International Special Review District.

For more information, visit www.zenyuhealing. org.

For info on how to donate, visit nafconusa.org.

The International Examiner website is now updated daily.

Visit iexaminer.org every day!

14 — December 18, 2013 – January 7, 2014

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

IE COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY Arts & Culture

Professional & Leadership Development

Asia Pacific Cultural Center 4851 So. Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 Ph: 253-383-3900 Fx: 253-292-1551 faalua@comcast.net www.asiapacificculturalcenter.org Bridging communities and generations through arts, culture, education and business.

1300 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 Ph: 206-654-3209 Fx: 206-654-3135 SAM connects art to life through special exhibitions, educational programs and installations drawn from its collection of approximately 25,000 objects. Through its three sites, SAM presents global perspectives, making the arts a part of everyday life for people of all ages, interests, backgrounds and cultures.

Education 3327 Beacon Ave S. Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-725-9740 info@deniselouie.org www.deniselouie.org Multicultural preschool ages 3-5 years old. Now enrolling Private Pay full-day ($900/mo) and part-day classes ($500/mo) with locations at ID, Beacon Hill, and Rainier Beach.

P.O. Box 16016 Seattle, WA 98116 info@vnsf.org www.vnsf.org VNSF enables underprivileged students in Viet Nam to achieve success and happiness through education. We are looking for volunteers and board members to join the team and make a difference in the lives of kids in Vietnam.

Housing & Neighborhood Planning HomeSight 5117 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-723-4355 fx: 206-760-4210 www.homesightwa.org HomeSight creates homeownership opportunities through real estate development, home buyer education and counseling, and lending.

601 S King St. Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-682-1668 website www.apicat.org

Executive Development Institute 310 – 120th Ave NE. Suite A102 Bellevue, WA Ph. 425-467-9365 • Fax: 425-467-1244 Email: edi@ediorg.org • Website: www.ediorg.org EDI offers culturally relevant leadership development programs.

WE MAKE LEADERS Queen Anne Station, P.O. Box 19888, Seattle, WA 98109 info@naaapseattle.org, www.naaapseattle.org Fostering future leaders through education, networking and community services for Asian American professionals and entrepreneurs.

Facebook: NAAAP-Seattle Twitter: twitter.com/naaapseattle

Senior Services

221 18th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-322-4550 fx: 206-329-3330 connie.devaney@gmail.com We provided affordable housing and support services to people over 62 years of age.

Lunch is served 7 days per week to people over 60 years of age for a $3 donation.

Seattle Chinatown/International District Preservation and Development Authority ph: 206-624-8929 fx: 206-467-6376 info@scidpda.org Housing, property management and community development.

Over 1,600 likes!

Address tobacco control and other health justice issues in the Asian American/Pacific Islander communities.

www.facebook.com/internationalexaminer

PO Box 14047, Seattle WA 98114 (206) 325.0325 (Helpline) info@apichaya.org www. apichaya.org API Chaya is dedicated to serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking in the Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander communities. We offer multi-lingual services that are free and confidential.

Don’t get take-out!

Have it Delivered!

Chinese Information and Service Center 611 S Lane St, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-624-5633 fax: 206-624-5634 info@cisc-seattle.org www.cisc-seattle.org CISC helps Asian immigrants make the transition to a new life while keeping later generations on touch with their rich heritage.

Community Care Network of Kin On

815 S Weller St, Suite 212, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-652-2330 fx: 206-652-2344 contact@kinon.org www.kinon.org Provides home care, home health, Alzheimer’s and caregiver support, community education and chronic care management. Coordinates medical supply delivery. Installs Personal emergency Response systems. Serves the Chinese/Asian community in King County.

Kin On Health Care Center

4416 S Brandon St, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-721-3630 fx: 206-721-3626 contact@kinon.org www.kinon.org A 100-bed, Medicare and Medicaid certified, not-for-profit skilled nursing facility focused on meeting the long term care needs of the Chinese/Asian community members.

Legacy House

803 South Lane Street Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-292-5184 fx: 206-838-3057 info@legacyhouse.org www.scidpda.org/programs/legacyhouse.aspx Description of organization/services offered: Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, meal programs for low-income seniors.

Medicaid accepted.

National Asian Pacific Center on Aging InterIm Community Development Association 310 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-624-1802 fx: 206-624-5859 info@interimicda.org www.interimicda.org Affordable housing development, multi-lingual low-income housing outreach, rental information, financial literacy, neighborhood planning and outreach for APAs, immigrants and refugees.

Social & Health Services

Senior Community Service Employment Program ph: 206-322-5272 fx: 206-322-5387 www.napca.org Part-time training program for low income Asian Pacific Islanders age 55+ in Seattle/ King & Pierce Counties.

1601 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122 ph: 206-323-7100 fx: 206-325-1502 www.nikkeiconcerns.org Rehabilitation & care center; assisted living community; senior activity program; continuing education.

Social & Health Services Asian Counseling & Referral Service

3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle, WA 98144 ph: 206-695-7600 fx: 206-695-7606 events@acrs.org www.acrs.org ACRS offers multilingual, behavioral health and social services to Asian Pacific Americans and other lowincome people in King County.

International District Medical & Dental Clinic 720 8th Ave S, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206-788-3700 Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic 3815 S Othello St, 2nd Floor, Seattle, WA 98118 ph: 206-788-3500 Bellevue Medical & Dental Clinic Coming in 2013!

Shoreline Medical & Dental Clinic Coming in 2014!

We are a nonprofit health center offering affordable health care services, including primary care, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, laboratory, acupuncture, and health education.

Seattle Rotary Club Bill Nagel Meets Every Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

New Hong Kong Restaurant Bill.nagel@gmail.com http://www.seattleidrotary.org/ Improve the local community by engaging activities such as community improvement projects, scholarship opportunities, and undertakings that promote education.

1501 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103 ph: 206-694-6700 fx: 206-694-6777 info@solid-ground.org www.solid-ground.org

Our programs help people meet their immediate needs and gain the skills and resources needed to reach solid ground and achieve their dreams. ph: 206-624-3426

www.merchants-parking-transia. org

Merchants Parking provides

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Please mail a check for $35 to the International Examiner or donate to: 622 S. Washington St., Seattle, WA 98104.Thank you for your contribution.

convenient & affordable community parking. Transia provides community transportation: para-transit van services, shuttle services and field trips in & out of Chinatown/International District & South King County.

Get the plan that fits Call Healthy Options at 1-800-562-3022. Choose Amerigroup.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

December 18 2013 – January 7, 2014 — 15

IE ARTS A Christmas Carol

Now through December 29, 2013 | ACT Theatre | 700 Union St., Seattle ACT Theatre, Seattle’s best dramatic theater company, presents the Dickens favorite for the 35th straight year. You’ve heard this story a million times, but this live rendition never fails to stir young and old alike. For more information, visit www.acttheatre.org or call (206) 292 - 7676.

2013 Short Holiday Entertainment Guide

21th Annual Gingerbread Village

Now through January 5, 2014 | Sheraton Seattle Hotel | 1400 Sixth Ave., Seattle

Gather the family and friends, snuggle in scarves and mittens and discover a new favorite holiday tradition!

Woodland Zooʼs WildLights

Now through January 4, 2014 | Woodland Park Zoo | 601 N 59th St, Seattle, WA 98103 | 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Closed December 24 & 25)

Seattle Center Ice Rink at Fisher Pavillion

The Lights of Christmas

Now till December 29, 2013 | Warm Beach Now Through January 5, 2014 | Dec 24 clos- Camp | Marine View Dr., Stanwood es 4:00 p.m., December 25 closed, December This year, the Woodland Park Zoo is having 31 closes 11:30 p.m.

The Lights of Christmas features over one milits winter lights festival! Wildlights, presented lion lights in creative display plus entertainment

by KeyBank, will feature indoor and outdoor Seattle Winterfest is never complete without and activities for the entire family. Located in displays of wild animals in LED lights, a stopping by the ice skating rink. Check out the Stanwood at Warm Beach Camp, this is a holivisiting reindeer and live entertainment for the ice scupltures outside of the pavillion. whole family. Prices: Adults $9.50, children Cost: Adults $7, Children ages 6-12 $5, day extravaganza that stretches across 15 acres, ages 3-12 $6.50, toddlers 2 & under are free. Children ages 5 and under $2, includes skate with uniquely themed areas with 1.2 million rental. Cash only. For more information, visit light displays, stunning larger-than-life nativVisit www.zoo.org for more information. www.seattlecenter.com. ity and 5 performance stages featuring theatre and music. For ticket information, please visit: Bellevue Garden dʼLights www.warmbeachlights.com.

Bellevue Downtown Park Now through January 4, 2014 | 12001 Main Now through January 12, 2014 | Open St. Bellevue, WA | 5:00 p.m.-10 p.m. every Christmas and New Year’s Day | Bellevue Cutting Down a Tree evening, including holidays Downtown Park | NE 1st St & 102nd Ave NE With over a half a million twinkling lights, the Bellevue Botanical Gardens hosts one of the most elaborate light festivals in the area.

Volunteers donate over thousands of hours a year to create the flowing river of lights, waterfalls, jellyfish, Snap d’Dragon and many more. Cost is $5 and last entry is at 9:30 p.m. Children under 10 are free. Visit www. gardendlights.org for more information.

Enjoy free skating on Mondays, compliments of Bank Of America! Receive 2 free admissions per person if you show your Bank of America debit or credit card at the ice arena. Expect long lines on December 24 and 31, so get there early! Regular admission $12 (includes skate rental). Visit www.magicseason.com for more information and other Bellevue events.

The Nutcracker at the Pacific Northwest Ballet

Candy Cane Lane

Now through December 29, 2013 | McCaw Hall | 301 Mercer Street Premiered at the Seattle Center Opera House on December 13, 1983, Nutcracker is one of Seattle’s famous holiday traditions. Kent Stowell and Maurice Sendek’s production of Nutcracker features over 200 dancers, and a stunning PBN Orchestra performance of Tchaikovsky’s famous Nutcracker suite. Prices range from $25-$143, depending on seating and date. Visit www.pbn.org for information.

Mid-December through December 31, 2013 from 4 p.m.-11 p.m. | Northeast Park Road off Ravenna Boulevard, Seattle Located in the city of Seattle in the Ravenna neighborhood, Candy Cane Lane is nothing short of unique. Twenty-three homes along NE Park Road have a tradition of going all out every holiday season. Be prepared for some traffic in the area but also consider parking nearby and walking to take the scene in at your own pace.

in the National Forest

Now until December 24, 2013 | Mt. Baker National Forest, Olympic National Forest Want to get your Christmas tree the oldfashioned way? Who needs a Christmas tree farm when you can venture into a national forest and cut a tree in the wilderness? Check the rules and regulations and get a permit before you head out. Cost is $10–$20 per tree cutting permit, which can be purchased at REI.

Holiday Giving Tree

Local architecture firms team up with the Sheraton Seattle culinary team to design, bake and build amazing gingerbread creations. Attracting over 100,000 people each year, this holiday event is free and open to the public. Donations benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Northwest Chapter.

Fantasy Lights

Now through January 1, 2014 | 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. | Spanaway Park, Military Road and 152nd St., Tacoma Fantasy Lights is located in Spanaway, a suburb of Tacoma and is one of the best events in Tacoma. The light displays are set up by community groups all throughout Spanaway Lake Park.

What is unique about this event is that it is all drive-through—so it’s hard to beat in the rainy Northwest winters! Cost is $13 per car.

For more information, please visit: www. co.pierce.wa.us.

Beasleyʼs Christmas Party

Now through December 30, 2013 | Taproot Theatre Company | 204 N 85th St., Seattle Full of hope and heart, this holiday tale will charm your whole family with its surprising twists. For more information, please e-mail: box@taproottheatre.org.

New Yearʼs Eve 2013

December 31, 2013 | Seattle Space Needle, downtown Seattle The famous Space Needle will once again display the world’s tallest structure-launched firework show with more than 2,000 pyrotechnic effects this New Year’s Eve. The base of the Space Needle will host the West Coast’s version of New York’s Time Square as more than 50,000 people gather below to watch the fireworks shoot across the mid-night sky with an estimated 400,000 viewing the show from surrounding neighborhoods.

Resolution Run 5K & Polar Bear Dive

January 1, 2014 | 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Warren G. Magnuson Park, Seattle

5K run/walk with optional “Polar Bear Dive” into Lake Washington at the 3.0 mile mark While shopping at Pike Place Market this of the 3.1 mile route. Includes free kids dash, holiday season visit The Giving Trees to give a post-race celebration and beer garden. Limited holiday wish or two. The trees will be decorated to 2,500 registrants. For more information, with lights and holiday wishes from the Market please call (206) 729 - 9972. area’s low-income community. They’re located in the Market’s “DownUnder” inside the Market Atrium in the Economy Building.

Pikes Place Market

16 — December 4, 2013 – December 17, 2013

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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