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MUSEUM from 3

said Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have shaped the nation’s history from its earliest days, from the Chinese laborers who helped build the transcontinental railroad to today’s contributions made in culture and the economy.

“Those contributions are often unheard of and simply forgotten,” she said. “It is time to change that.”

The legislation comes as visitors have flocked to the latest addition to the National Mall, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016. Plans are underway for two other museums, the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum.

Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., said that while he supports the bill, he has concerns he hopes will be answered about the financial and operational challenges that an additional museum to the Smithsonian’s portfolio could pose.

The commission would have 18 months to report its findings back to Congress and the president. The bill was approved without objections or the need for a roll call vote.

Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., spoke of having endured taunts about his heritage and wanting his own young sons to grow up proud of their background.

“I don’t want my kids to understand who they are through sources of hate and discrimination,” he said during the floor debate.

“I want them to feel pride,” Kim said. “Our story is not just an Asian American story, it’s an American story.” 

WATARI AND WU from 8

and Wu have worked together (they’ve partnered on a clothing line in the past), this was the first time they’ve worked on a book.

“Shine” is Watari’s first picture book, while Wu is the author and illustrator behind the “Ellie the Elephant” book series.

“I’m lucky because I have an in-house teacher,” said Watari, whose background is in animation and fashion and has worked for companies such as Disney and the Gap.

In response, Wu, who is also a Pixar artist and has worked on a number of the studio’s films including its latest, “Turning Red,” laughed and said, “I don’t know about a teacher.”

He added that it was fun working with his wife as they talked about the book all the time—even during everyday tasks around the house such as making dinner— and described it as a nice back-and-forth process. Because the pandemic had them homebound, it was difficult to keep their work and personal lives separate. But one of the benefits of working with your spouse, Wu said, is being able to discuss your work without being judged.

“We would inspire each other,” he said.

The book’s original inspirations, Watari and Wu’s daughters, also enjoyed the book and the two girls see themselves as Keiko. In addition, for a scene in which Keiko is protesting with her loved ones, Watari and Wu’s eldest created the posters the fictional family is holding up—a contribution she describes as “embarrassing,” according to Wu.

But for Watari, having “Shine” be a family affair—from getting Wu involved, to their daughters’ input—was her favorite part of writing the book.

“That was really special,” she said. 

Samantha can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

BLOG from 9

the lowest level to the top.

Chen said the association plans to improve the building over time. As soon as one tenant moves out, they remodel the unit. So far, it has remodeled two units.

“After remodeling, it’s beautiful. It rents out quickly.”

“I have great confidence in Chinatown’s prosperity,” Michael said. “Yes, we have many public safety issues now. But I believe the government will fix the problem, and make it safe. Chinatown’s future is great. Our job is to ensure the economic vitality of Chinatown.”

At the dinner, Larry Chan mentioned that Seattle’s chapter of 122 years has a much longer history than the San Francisco headquarters of 102 years—something the Seattle chapter takes pride in. It was established earlier because the first wave of Chin immigrants arrived in Seattle, not San Francisco. Chin is one of the top five last names in the U.S.

However, challenges remain with the Seattle chapter and other Chinatown community organizations.

“Our organization needs the younger generation to take over, to get involved,” said Larry. “Ten years from now, we won’t be here. We did the right thing to buy the building. It strengthens our organization’s finances for the future. We did our part. And we need the younger generation to carry the torch.” 

Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

CLIPPER VENTURE from 1

the crews that had stopped on the racing leg in Subic Bay, Philippines. The fleet was due to leave for Seattle later that month.

Almost two years to the day the race stopped, it returned with the destination of crossing the Pacific to Seattle. Most of the boats racing made it to the Bell Harbor Marina on Seattle’s waterfront on April 24. The Qingdao, one of the boats in the race, did not race this leg although it will start its leg next month out of San Francisco.

Mark, who is in Seattle to welcome the end of this leg, will travel to San Francisco to join the Qingdao for the next part of the race. The next leg goes through the Panama Canal and eventually makes its way to New York City.

The time on the boat is regimented as crew members have shifts and spend most of their off time either eating or asleep. Maintaining the racing yacht in the ocean requires lots of work so many of the crew stated that after their shift, they went to sleep immediately. Crew members do make a road diary of their trip and send it in to the race office.

Michael (Tang Lin) of China is looking to sail around the world by himself if this race goes well. “I look to do adventure.” He has already ridden his motorcycle from Alaska to Panama. “Now is the chance to do the same around the ocean.” The small business owner stated that he thinks he will enjoy the journey. “If this is real, then I am going to get a boat and sail around the world,” said the 52-year old.

Cheok In Lo, from Macau, who completed his first race after crossing the Pacific and docking in Seattle, was amazed at the enormity of the ocean.

“It was like I was dreaming. It was very exciting.” He trained for four weeks in the United Kingdom to get used to the rigors of the ocean. Also, each crew member has a specific job during the race.

“The waves were huge and daunting,” said Wan Chio, who works for Clipper and serves as one of the dedicated members of the crew. She noted that some of the wind speeds reached 57 miles per hour. She recalled the need to change the sail of their vessel in the middle of the night, which required her to take the helm.

But with the strength of the ocean, there is also beauty.

“The blue color of the ocean is something that I will never forget.” 

Jason can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

SOLUTION from SUDOKU on page 6.

Deborah Tahara at a comedy club in 2019

specials on Netflix. I noticed more comedy from diverse voices speaking of experiences that I can relate to. Also my English was better by then. I was watching Ali Wong, Hasan Minhaj, Chris Rock, Gad Elmaleh… [and I thought], maybe I should give it a try!

When 2018 came, I made a New Year’s resolution: by the end of the year, I would go to at least one open mic. It’s quite powerful how the universe responds to our wishes once we set our minds to it. I signed up for a stand-up class in February, and the rest is history.”

For Deborah Tahara, a funny lady and filmmaker who grew up in Hawaii, peer pressure proved important.

“The two people who made me want to do stand-up are my co-workers who invited me out to try an open mic,” Tahara recalled. “I told them, ‘No way! I could never do standup!’ But I went anyway to go watch and support them. When I saw them bomb, I thought, ‘I can do that.’ So I wrote some jokes and the next week, I went to the same open mic to perform stand-up for my very first time. After that, I was hooked!

“I’m the only one of the three of us still at it. If they didn’t bomb, it might have turned out differently.”

Asked about discrimination, the two agree that they don’t see much of it outright.

“I don’t know about outright racism on the scene,” Ye elaborated. “But in my experience, it is more the gatekeepers (bookers) making assumptions that their white audience won’t like me or relate to me, as a result not giving me the booking opportunities.”

Explained Tahara, “Fortunately, I have not experienced outright racism. I sometimes feel overlooked or invisible, but I blame my own insecurity rather than discrimination. Making people laugh and hustling to improve and get booked are the ways I try to be seen and respected by comedians and audiences.”

Asked about the best places to perform, Ye’s quick to praise Nate Jackson’s Super Funny Comedy Club in Tacoma.

“First of all, Nate is a very funny comedian with lots of industry credits and experience, he respects and loves the craft of comedy, and is genuinely interested in nurturing talents. Second, he is an authentic, generous, and giving human being, and he creates a very supportive and safe environment where everyone treats each other with respect and no judgment, which is crucial for young talents to experiment and grow.

“Lastly, it’s one of four black-owned comedy clubs in the nation and arguably the one with top state-of-art stage. Nate books extremely funny veteran comedians and draws full crowds, so it’s amazing to learn from the pros and it’s a super fun stage to perform.”

Tahara holds her own preferences.

“I have a soft spot in my heart for open mic at dive bar Tony V’s Garage in Everett, because that’s where I started and it’s a great place to take risks in trying new material. Every week, the place is full or near-full of audience members, which is rare for a free open mic show. I’m a regular at Club Comedy on Capitol Hill. Their new location is classy and they get crowds even for weeknight shows.

“Theater shows are my favorite over bar shows,” she adds. “In theaters, the audience wants to laugh and they’re rooting for you to make them laugh. In bars, you have to win over the audience, but when you do, it’s totally rewarding. Awesome theater venues for comedy are the Carco Theatre in Renton and Red Curtain Center for Arts in Marysville, both of which I just performed at in the last two weeks.”

Both women have also tried booking comedy nights. During the pandemic, Ye moved to Camano Island, which she describes as “a predominantly-white, retirement community.”

“There wasn’t any comedy going on so I brought the comedy to my local community. I also started bringing comedians with diverse backgrounds (POC, immigrants, LGBTQ+, etc) to an audience who had very little exposure to these voices. And it’s absolutely beautiful to see people connect and laugh together.”

As for Tahara, “I just produced my own show on April 8, 2022, at the Red Curtain Center for the Arts in Marysville. It was my first time producing, so I viewed it as a learning experience. We had a lineup of five comedians from the Seattle area, including me, and one from Portland. The comedians were amazing and the crowd enjoyed it. We did not sell out, but I hope to grow the audience with future shows. There are no other comedy shows in the Marysville area as far as I know, so I think the venue has real potential.”

Asked about future plans, Tahara said, “I plan to keep improving as a writer/performer and continue to create experiences that bring audiences together in laughter, whether at a comedy show or watching a film. Watch for more episodes of my web series ‘Funny and Fearless.’”

For Ye, “My mission and passion behind my stand-up have always been: bridging cultures and empowering immigrants through my personal stories. I want to continue to hone my craft and unique voice in stand-up with that vision in mind, but also get into acting and screenwriting. I’m a firm believer that the more people hear and see authentic immigrant stories, the more we are humanized and the more connected we will be with each other.” 

Bernice Ye at Caroline’s on Broadway

Andrew can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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AAPI HERITAGE MONTH video & photo contest

Show us how you celebrate AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month in May. Whether it’s a family gathering, adorable children (and adults!) celebrating traditions, in all forms including arts and craft, or the awesome family cook showing off a delicious meal, we’d love to see the unique ways in which you and your family celebrate AAPI heritage. There will be two categories of competition: videos and photos.

Prizes: Judges’ Choice awards and People’s Choice Awards (readers vote). The winners will be announced in early June. Winners will receive gift certificates to restaurants and grocery stores, and Asian snacks.

Deadlines: submit photo(s) and video(s) by May 20.

Please submit your photo(s) and/or video(s) to james@nwasianweekly.com. For videos (not to exceed 60 seconds), please submit it by posting on your Facebook and tag us #NWaapi to consider. The winning video will be posted Northwest Asian Weekly’s YouTube channel. All photo and video submissions must be original content. Fill out the information below. You may also submit via mail to: Northwest Asian Weekly, 412 Maynard Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104.

Name:_________________________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________ Email: _________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ________________________________________________________________________ Describe in one to two sentences what the photo or video is about.

2022 Winners of Lunar New Year Photo Contest

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