MyFoxNY.com reporter Ti-Hua Chang, MSNBC anchor Richard Lui, NY1‘s CeFaan Kim and Michelle Yu, spoken word poet Kelly Tsai and actress Jen Kwok will emcee the 32nd Annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at Union Square Park (East 17th between Broadway and Park Avenue) in New York from 12:00pm to 6:00pm. Organized by the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans since 1971, this annual festival is the longest running and largest event celebrating Pan Asian heritage on the East Coast.

This year’s festival is themed around the journey that Asian Pacific American ancestors have taken to bring us to this moment that celebrates not only the value of families but also our heritage in the combining of the traditional and very colourful culture across the continent of Asia that make us proud to be Asian Pacific Americans. The festival will feature fun activities for children and adults, savory samples of Asian cuisine, booths representing local Asian American organizations, and an impressive lineup of musical artists, dance presentations, martial artists, taiko drumming groups and magicians. For more details on the event, click here.

List of Performing Artists:
Music: Hsu-nami, PaperDoll, Reni Mimura, Dana Leong ft. Le Zhang, Nina Sophia Mojares, and Nuf Said ft. Ioana Vintu
Dance: Polynesian Dance, New York Chinese Cultural Center, and Yosakoi Dance

One of the foremost names on the American wadaiko scene, Kenny Endo, returns to Tokyo for 2 engagements on April 24 at Shibuya’s O-West and on April 30 at Minami Aoyama’s “Mandala.” The concert at the Mandala is called “Mitsudomoe – Mind, Body, Spirit.”

Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance, a short documentary by dance photojournalist Nan Melville, will screen at the Newport Beach Film Festival at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3, 2011, in Newport Beach, California.

Melville, a freelance photographer for several arts institutions including The Julliard School, Carnegie Hall, and The New York Times, specializes in photographing and filming the performing arts, primarily dance.

Melville first met the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in 1996, when she was assigned by The New York Times to photograph their U.S. debut performance in New York. After visiting the Nrityagram dance village in Bangalore, India, at the invitation of the late Protima Bedi, she began working on her documentary. She returned to India to film life in the dance village, and research archival materials.

The second annual LUCKYRICE Festival, presented by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and Conde Nast Traveler, kicks off tonight with Dinner with Anita Lo presented by HSBC at Anissa from 7pm-10pm. ($200)

The inaugural 2010 Festival was 100% sold-out; this year’s festival expands to one week from May 2-8, 2011 at various locations throughout New York City. Participants of the LUCKYRICE Festival include members of the LUCKYRICE Culinary Council – Daniel Boulud, Susur Lee, Anito Lo, Masaharu Morimoto, amongst others, to include some of the world’s top restaurants, chefs, and mixologists. Tickets can be purchased at www.luckyrice.com. Proceeds from the festival will again benefit City Harvest.

“We are thrilled to be joined by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and again by Conde Nast Traveler for the LUCKYRICE Festival this year,” said Danielle Chang, Founder of LUCKYRICE. “I am excited to share Asia’s rich culinary culture with so many New Yorkers and honored to be supported by our esteemed Culinary Council.”

ABOUT LUCKYRICE
LUCKYRICE is an integrated experiential marketing and media company that was launched in the spring of 2010. LUCKYRICE has quickly become the definitive guide to the Asian culinary world, which represents sixty percent of the world’s population. LUCKYRICE understands these cultures and creates a common denominator through the lens of food.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS*

By Stephen Rakower

Tickets to events and screenings at the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival go on sale beginning April 1, 2012.

A preview of the film festival's offerings April 26 - May 3, 2012 show once again a slate of 350 films from 40 countries. With the festival centered in the beautiful seaside community of Newport Beach, the community goes 'all-out' with its parties and programs for filmmakers.  Here's a preview of the 2012 line-up The festival has a variety of offerings where you can watch films grouped by themes, location or genre such as French, Australian, or Surfing films. Below, you can check out last year's film festival's "Asian Showcase."