BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Oakland Asian Cultural Center - ECPv6.16.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://oacc.cc X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Oakland Asian Cultural Center REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20250309T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20251102T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20260308T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20261101T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20270314T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20271107T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260522T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260522T210000 DTSTAMP:20260531T020609 CREATED:20260422T214047Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260511T220439Z UID:23150-1779474600-1779483600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Queer Asian World Cinema: QWOCFF Satellite Screening DESCRIPTION:Friday\, May 22\, 2026\n6:30-9 pm\nFREE\n \nQueer Women of Color Media Arts Project-QWOCMAP presents the 22nd annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival—47 films by queer women\, nonbinary\, and trans filmmakers of color\, screening from May through October 2026. This year’s festival theme\, “We Resist\, and We Roll\,” holds the fullness of what this community does. We push back against the forces that try to erase us. And we keep making films. WRaWR—because we’ve always done both at the same time. \n  \nOACC is honored to host one of the Film Festival’s opening events\, the Queer Asian World Cinema satellite screening. Experience a dance floor turned into history. A teenager seeing themselves clearly at last. Two best friends holding onto one last summer. A collective built against silence. A body that can’t close its eyes and a desert haunted by water. A girl and her ramen rewriting the West. Love and hurt imagined before birth. A night that pulls two sisters off course. Eight films moving between memory\, diaspora\, and dream where identity flickers\, stretches\, and insists on being seen. \n  \nThis screening is presented by QWOCMAP in partnership with the Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC)\, and Visual Communications in Los Angeles. It is free to attend\, but registration is requested at the link below. Masking will be required\, and free masks will be provided at the event. Audio description will be available. \n  \nThe Queer Asian World Cinema screening will include the following films: \n  \n• Stay Hot Stay Chill by Nancy YiYu Chen \n• Memoria by Ross Vasallo \n• Stroke of Dreams by Tracy Nguyen \n• Because of You: A History of Kilawin Kolektibo by Barbara Malaran & Desireena Almoradie  \n• Somewhere To Be by Libby Chun \n• Hugs & Kisses by Alexandra Orr \n• A Swim in the Desert by Coffee Kang \n• Ramen Western by Meloddy Gao \n \n Register for Tickets\n \nABOUT QWOCMAP \nQueer Women of Color Media Arts Project-QWOCMAP builds narrative power by transforming the world’s most expensive art form into a tool for liberation. Founded in 2000\, QWOCMAP funds\, creates\, exhibits\, and distributes high-impact films to shatter stereotypes and bias\, reveal the lived truth of inequality\, and illuminate the incisive leadership and creative brilliance of LBTQIA+ people of color.  \n  \nQWOCMAP provides critical support and resources for LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers. Over 500 films have been created through our award-winning Filmmaker Training Program\, the largest catalog of films by LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers in the world. QWOCMAP presents its annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival to build community and cross-movement solidarity. QWOCMAP’s curatorial practice and boutique film distribution strengthens political education and movement building. Our vision advances cultural resistance and renewal through filmmaker-activists who reshape power structures and create futures where justice and equity are the norm. URL:https://oacc.cc/event/qwocmap/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Queer-Asian-Cinema-FB-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260530T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260530T210000 DTSTAMP:20260531T020609 CREATED:20260413T185348Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260417T001308Z UID:23198-1780167600-1780174800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Celebrating Our HeART-Filled Heritage: Celebrating the Zither—Asian American Identity and Cultural Survival DESCRIPTION:Saturday\, May 30\, 2026\n7-9 pm\nFREE\n\nCelebrating the Zither: Asian American Identity and Cultural Survival invites audiences into a powerful musical journey with accomplished musicians Shirley Muramoto and Winnie Wong\, where tradition becomes resilience and heritage becomes liberation. Through the luminous sounds of the koto and guzheng\, this program explores how cultural access is not just preservation—but survival—especially in the wake of histories like Japanese American incarceration and the ongoing shaping of Asian American identity. \nThough visually similar\, the koto and guzheng carry distinct cultural lineages\, each echoing stories of endurance\, adaptation\, and belonging. In this concert\, they meet in collaboration and creative reimagining—bridging past and present\, individuality and shared experience. \nThis is a celebration of multiplicity: of holding many worlds at once\, of honoring what makes us unique while finding connection through sound. Through new works\, cross-cultural dialogue\, and bold reinterpretations\, Celebrating the Zither offers a space where music becomes a living testament to identity\, memory\, and the freedom to define what it means to be Asian-American. \n\nRegister for Free Tickets\n\n \nAbout Shirley Muramoto \nShirley Kazuyo Muramoto\, Koto musician\, teacher\, band leader\, filmmaker\, event producer\, has played the Japanese koto since a young child under the tutelage of her mother\, Kazuko Muramoto. She continued to study traditional Japanese koto and jiuta shamisen music with masters Chikushi Katsuko\, Kazue Kudo\, and Yoko Gates. Shirley plays the koto in various styles and genres\, expanding the repertoire of traditional music through collaborations\, arrangements\, and compositions. \nBased in Oakland\, Calif.\, she received her Shihan koto teaching credential with Yushusho (highest) honors and her Dai Shihan master’s credential from the Chikushi Kai in Japan. This year is her official 50th anniversary since receiving her koto teaching certification. In 2012\, the Hokka Nichi Bei Kai inducted Shirley into the Bunka (Japanese cultural arts) Hall of Fame. In that same year\, the National Park Service’s Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program awarded her funding for the documentary film “Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the World War II Internment Camps” (2014)\, culminating her decades-long research on this little-known part of U.S. history. \nIn 2024\, Shirley became one of the artists awarded by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and Mellon Foundation for the inaugural Taproot Fellowship’s recognition of traditional artists and culture bearers across the U.S. in 2024. Shirley continues to talk to students and organizations about the history of music in the WWII camps\, and the importance of keeping cultural heritage practices in our lives. \n \nAbout Winnie Wong \nWinnie Wong is a Hong Kong–born\, San Francisco–raised guzheng artist who began training at age four under virtuoso Weishan Liu and debuted publicly at five. Deeply rooted in her Chinese heritage\, she uses the guzheng not only to preserve tradition but to foster cultural connection and diversity within her community. \nOver four decades\, Wong has built a distinctive artistic voice that blends Chinese classical and traditional music with jazz\, world music\, and improvisation. She is the founder of China’s Spirit Music Ensemble\, creating a nurturing space for students to develop both technical skill and cultural understanding. Expanding beyond tradition\, she performs as principal guzheng soloist with The Ultra World X-tet and collaborates in cross-cultural projects such as the Irish-Chinese duo Willow Stream and Asian zither collaborations. \nWong’s work is defined by storytelling through sound—her compositions weave imagery\, emotion\, and global influences into immersive musical experiences. Her career reflects a lifelong commitment to bridging cultures\, inspiring new generations\, and redefining the guzheng as a dynamic\, contemporary instrument. She was honored with the “Musician of the Heart” award in 2016 for her cultural impact and artistic dedication. URL:https://oacc.cc/event/asian-zither/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Asian-Zither-FB-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260612T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260612T200000 DTSTAMP:20260531T020609 CREATED:20260511T201833Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260512T213817Z UID:23300-1781287200-1781294400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Opening Doorways for Belonging and Liberation: PARAMITA Film Screening and Healing Workshop with Kirthi Nath DESCRIPTION:Friday\, June 12\, 2026\n6-8 pm\nFREE (registration requested)\n \nJoin us for Opening Doorways for Belonging and Liberation\, an experiential workshop that invites us to slow down and experience what it means to belong—to ourselves\, each other and the natural world. This workshop weaves together meditation\, healing rituals\, sacred reflection\, community care circles and a screening of Kirthi Nath’s film PARAMITA.  \n  \nPARAMITA is a 24-minute documentary that bears witness to Prajna Choudhury’s 25-year coming out process with her traditional Bangladeshi mother and her journey of connecting with Buddhist practices and nature as gateways for acceptance and intergenerational healing.  \n  \nTogether\, let’s explore healing and belonging as living practices of resistance and renewal\, where resilience meets joy\, and where we cultivate the connections needed for a more whole and liberated future. This experience will be facilitated by filmmaker Kirthi Nath. \n  \nThis event is free to attend\, but registration is requested at the link below. \n \n Register for Free Tickets\n \n \nAbout the Filmmaker  \nKirthi Nath is an award-winning South Asian lesbian filmmaker whose work centers BIPOC voices and storytelling as a pathway for healing\, belonging and collective liberation. Her body of work fluidly straddles genres\, occupying a fertile landscape of cultural poetics\, social justice and spirituality. Kirthi’s films have been featured at Mill Valley Film Festival\, CAAMFest\, Frameline\, Bengal International Shorts\, DisOrient\, SF Doc Fest and more. She has received grants from the Center for Asian American Media\, V-Day\, Re-Present Media and the Center for Cultural Innovation\, and has been selected to participate in A-Doc Allies\, BGDM MafiaMind\, Bitchitra Curated Programs\, RePresent Media Fellowship and Looky Looky’s Impact Producer Incubator. Kirthi is also the founder and lead filmmaker at Cinemagical Media\, a woman of color-led creative agency specializing in filmmaking\, creative strategy and impact producing that partners with organizations\, communities and changemakers to produce films and workshops that uplift marginalized voices\, invite cultural transformation and reimagine liberation. \n Praise for Opening Doorways for Belonging and Liberation   \n“Watching PARAMITA and participating in the healing workshop afterward reminded me that healing is possible\, even when it hasn’t happened within my own family. It gave me peace\, teaching me that healing can flow both forward to future generations and backward to my ancestors. This practice of healing\, rooted in love and understanding\, has become a source of strength for me.” – Carletta Bullock\, Buddhist Practitioner \n  \n“PARAMITA is a beautiful film… reflective\, quietly stirring\, beautiful\, hopeful\, and helps me remember who I am… who we all are.” – Phoenix Song\, Performer/Writer/Facilitator \n  \n“As a queer South Asian\, it was powerful and healing to see an experience that affirmed we are not separate from our culture if we are queer. The film and healing workshop gave me a sense of belonging—affirming my own experience and reminding me that I am not alone.” – Anonymous URL:https://oacc.cc/event/paramita/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PARAMITA-FB-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260712T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260712T160000 DTSTAMP:20260531T020609 CREATED:20260529T223451Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260529T225354Z UID:23326-1783864800-1783872000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Musikang Kalipay: A Rondalla Concert with the Iskwelahang Pilipino DESCRIPTION:Sunday\, July 12\, 2026\n2-4 pm\n(mini-vendor market opens at 1:30 pm)\nFREE\n\nJoin us for a joyful musical expression of Filipino American identity in two acts\, from the Iskwelahang Pilipino Rondalla of Boston. Act One is a concert version of Kalipay & Gamay: The Musical\, with narration and songs from the full show. Act Two is Rondalla Mixtape\, a celebration of traditional and popular music over 5 decades of this Philippine folk music tradition. \nKalipay & Gamay 
the Musical was first staged in 2024 in Boston\, and expands upon the storyline of the beloved children’s book\, Kalipay and the Tiniest Tiktik\, written by Oakland-based author Christina Newhard and published by Sari-Sari Storybooks. It further explores the story’s themes of Filipino mythology and folklore\, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)\, bullying and friendship\, and finding joy in differences. \nRondalla Mixtape is an energetic performance of reimagined traditional songs\, popular music medleys\, and original compositions from the US and Philippines. It combines singing and dancing with instrumental music and features a unique feature of the IP Rondalla\, choreography while playing. \nPresented by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in partnership with the Iskwelahang Pilipino and Sari-Sari Storybooks\, with support from Sama-Sama Cooperative and Bindlestiff Studio. \nThis event is free to attend\, but registration is requested at the link below. \n\nRegister for Free Tickets\n\n \nAbout the Iskwelahang Pilipino and Iskwelahang Rondalla Ensemble \nFounded in 1976\, Iskwelahang Pilipino (IP) is a volunteer-run Filipino cultural school dedicated to strengthening Filipino American children\, families and community. Our decades of service earned the 2006 Banaag Award from the Office of the President of the Philippines for contributions to the global Filipino community. Learn more at home.ipbahay.org. \nThe IP Rondalla Ensemble\, established in 1986 under the tutelage of world-renowned Filipino virtuoso Michael Dadap\, bridges generations through music by bringing together the fresh energy of young musicians with experienced mentor musicians who together perform Filipino folk\, pop\, and contemporary Fil-Am compositions. Over the years\, the rondalla has been fortunate to perform for three Philippine Presidents\, release two albums\, share the stage with Filipino artists such as Rachel Alejandro\, Jon Joven\, Celeste Legaspi and Jim Paredes; and to be featured at the United Nations\, the Cultural Center of the Philippines\, and the U.S. Mission to NATO. Past tours have taken us to Canada\, the Philippines\, and Europe\, proudly blending music\, dance\, and storytelling that reflect the richness of the Filipino American experience. \n \nAbout Sari-Sari Storybooks \nSari-Sari Storybooks is an independent press based in Oakland\, California\, which publishes bilingual Filipino children’s books in Philippine mother tongues. These stories of kindness\, courage\, and magic celebrate the rich diversity of the Philippines with young readers in the motherland and diaspora. The press was founded by Christina Newhard in 2012\, with the first three titles published in 2017: Melo the Umang-Boy\, Kalipay and the Tiniest Tiktik\, and Amina and the City of Flowers. Sandangaw followed in 2018\, and most recently\, Jalal and the Lake in 2023. These books are bilingual in Ivatan\, Cebuano\, Chavacano\, Waray\, and Meranaw\, with a board book scheduled for release in 2026. \nSince its founding\, Sari-Sari Storybooks has reached thousands of readers with their quirky\, beautiful\, uniquely Filipino storytelling. Learn more at sarisaristorybooks.com. URL:https://oacc.cc/event/kalipay/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Musikang-Kalipay-FB-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR