UNCA Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
with Events in April

UNC Asheville will celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with several cultural programs. A performance by the Asian American theater company hereandnow will be a special highlight. Events are free and open to the public.

With a cast of 20 young Asian American actors, hereandnow performs theatrical vignettes that relate to the diverse human experience. Founded in 1989 by John Miyasaki, the group strives to present non-stereotypical roles for Asian Americans in their plays and musicals. Hereandnow tours across the nation and is currently the artist-in-residence company at East Los Angeles College. Hereandnow will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, April 19, at UNCA’s Dining Hall.

UNCA’s annual Worldwide Fashion Show will showcase UNCA students in traditional attire from various international cultures from around the world 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, on the UNCA Quad. Fashions from China and Japan as well as Africa, Hmong, India and other nations will be featured. Spring fashions from local merchants, including the Gap and Structure, will represent American trends. Models are members of UNCA’s multicultural and international student organizations.

A screening and discussion of "The Joy Luck Club" will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, in UNCA’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Grant Hardy, UNCA history department chair, will discuss significant themes of the movie as they relate to Asian American issues. He will also give a historical background on the roles of Chinese women in the early 1900s.

For more information, call UNCA’s Multicultural Student Affairs Office at 828/251-6671.

Media Contacts:

• Samuel Williams, UNCA Multicultural Student Affairs Director, 828/251-6671
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526