Issue: # 5: May 17, 2007

Welcome to the Cosplay Generation

By Austin Osueke Women dressed in French maid outfits or skimpy bikini-like costumes pose in front of paparazzi-like photographers. Teenage boys walk around with giant plastic swords and spiky, bleach blond wigs. Caucasian and African American youth walk around wearing traditional Japanese kimonos, perfectly styled. Truckloads of people performing skits and reenacting scenes from their favorite anime or video games in homemade costumes, which they spent countless hours of labor and money to create. Year after year, more young people are joining this trend by the hundreds. What's going on here?  This trend of people dressing up as characters from anime, video games and all things Japanese pop is called cosplay. A portmanteau of the words "costume" and "play," it has become a subculture where like-minded people gather at anime events to show off elaborate costumes, make friends, be photographed and participate in cosplay contests called masquerades. It's believed to have originated from the Tokyo districts of Harajuku and Akihabara back in the '80s and reached popularity in the American anime scene in the past decade. Today, anime cosplaying in America has substantially trumped the number of people who costume in American comic book and sci-fi characters. There's also a noticeable generational gap between cosplayers and "trekkies." Teenagers and young people are into cosplaying at a level that no previous generation has experienced. We live in the generation of otakus (anime fans); this is the Cosplay Generation. eigoMANGA Anime Entertainment on Natoma Stage at Howard and 6th Streets: 4:15 - 4:45: Lemon Drop Kick Performance 4:45 - 5:00: Cosplay Awards EM by the PALBOT Team(comic book series)/ Sailor Moon 5:00 - 6:00: Artbeat Music Performance http://www.eigomanga.com/ahsc/

Entertainment Spotlights

The Third Annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration will feature an exciting and diverse entertainment line-up on May 19 from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Howard between 5th and 7th streets in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. Founded in 1996, Youth Speaks is the leading nonprofit presenter of spoken word performance and education in the country. Presenters of local and national youth poetry slams, festivals and reading series, Youth Speaks also offers literary arts education programs. Youth Speaks works with 45,000 Bay Area teens each year. www.youthspeaks.org. Khemarin Dance Group, a youth cultural dance ensemble, is made up of young Bay Area Cambodian girls. The group aims to raise awareness and promote Khmer culture through dance. Khemarin means "belonging to Khmer." Gary Anthony Palomo also known as G DOVE is a Filipino American who produces an original hip hop sound influenced by old school hip hop, jazz, disco, soul and even classical music. www.myspace.com/gdovemusic OngDance Company is directed by Kyoungil Ong, a professional dancer and choreographer from South Korea. The company creates contemporary work based on traditional themes, bringing out the hidden beauty of traditional Korean dance. The company received the Ethnic Dance Choreography Commission Award from World Arts West and the San Francisco Foundation in 2005. Hip Hop artist Enoch hopes to create music fueled by substance instead of greed. Enoch is working towards redefining the state of Hip Hop instead of just reinventing it. www.myspace.com/problemcausingsolution

Sponsor highlight: Idenix Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

IDENIX PHARMACEUTICALS AND NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION: SHAPING THE FUTURE OF HEPATITIS THERAPY Idenix Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation are proud to sponsor the Asian Heritage Street Celebration, an event that brings the community together and celebrates all Asian cultures.  Idenix Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharma AG have created an alliance that seeks to bring the world new therapeutic options for the treatment of hepatitis.  This alliance is committed to shaping the future of hepatitis therapy by investigating and introducing innovative medicines that may offer physicians additional tools for disease management and, ultimately, improved outcomes for patients.  Chronic hepatitis B is a serious global health problem, especially in the Asian American community where one in 10 is chronically infected with hepatitis B.  Activities included in the Street Celebration will aim to educate and increase awareness among the community about this serious disease.

Sponsor highlight: San Francisco Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com are proud to sponsor this year's Asian Heritage Street Celebration. Since 1865, the San Francisco Chronicle has recorded the great events, famous figures and critical issues that have shaped the Bay Area, the nation and the world. It stands as an award-winning newspaper of uncommon quality, staffed by more than 400 writers, photographers and editors dedicated to providing outstanding journalism to an enormous, multicultural audience. No other company plays as important a role in accomplishing the "daily miracle" of keeping the Bay Area informed. In the nation's fifth-largest market, The Chronicle ranks as the Bay Area's No. 1 newspaper, and SFGate.com stands as the Bay Area's No. 1 local news site. The Chronicle has been recognized with top awards from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, the Society of Newspaper Design, the Association of Food Journalists and many other organizations. Throughout the year, we sponsor a number of programs and events of special interest to our readers and community. Over the past 20 years, the San Francisco Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund has worked with more than 200 community organizations to provide food and shelter for more than 5,000 Bay Area families and raised more than $56 million. The Chronicle and SFGate.com are long-time sponsors of San Francisco's Chinese New Year Festival and Parade. Beginning in June, we will also sponsor the Asian Art Museum's MATCHA program, a monthly Thursday evening series offered through November, where art, performance and music move with an urban flair. We are glad to be part of the Asian Heritage Street Fair, a fun and educational event that celebrates the diversity of Asian Pacific America. The Chronicle and SFGate.com look forward to the fair's continuing success as it establishes itself as a dynamic Bay Area tradition.

Helping the Community Stay Healthy

By Muy Yam Offering health care to city residents for over 30 years, the South of Market Health Center will have a community booth at this year's 3rd annual Asian Heritage Street Celebration on May 19. A full-service clinic located at 551 Minna Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets, SMHC offers medical, dental and podiatry services to individuals and families who have difficulty obtaining health care. Clients range from homeless individuals, residents of the area's single room occupancy hotels, seniors and immigrant families. The nonprofit clinic sees over 5,000 patients every year, many of whom have little or no healthcare coverage. "We're trying to improve access to primary care," said Cristina Sprague, Director of Operations. "We want people to access health care without intimidation." In 1999, SMHC opened a second clinic site for senior citizens at 317 Clementina St. to help serve their older patients. A registered nurse and family nurse practitioner, Sprague looks forward to another new clinic in the works, which will open at 7th Street between Howard and Folsom. A 20,000 square foot community health clinic, it will include 48 units of affordable housing for low-income families and offer mental health services. SMHC expects to double its number of patients after the expansion. "It will be a multi-service clinic that will include pharmacy on site, as well as have more physicians on staff," she said. "It will be geared towards families, and we'll have more physicians to help enhance and improve services."

Sponsor Highlight: Sunset Scavenger/Norcal Waste

Norcal Waste Systems, Inc., founded and headquartered in San Francisco, has been a leader in the field of solid waste management and recycling since the turn of the century.  As much a part of the City's unique and colorful history as bridges and cable cars, the people of Norcal take pride in our history of service to residents and businesses of the City and County of San Francisco. Their operating companies, Sunset Scavenger and Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling are 100% employee-owned, and combined provide San Franciscans with one of the finest, most efficient and reliable solid waste and recycling infrastructures.  These companies cover every facet of the City's waste disposal needs including collection, recovery and processing of recyclables, refuse transfer, and household hazardous and special waste management.      "The Asian Heritage Street Celebration is supported by Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling and Sunset Scavenger because our company firmly believes in community stewardship and we are pleased to support a great event that honors the cultural diversity of our Asian community," said Maurice Quillen, Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling, General Manager.   "This celebration is a great opportunity to enjoy the sights and sounds of various communities, at an innovative and exciting event.  On behalf of the employee-owners of our company, please join us in supporting the Asian Heritage Street Celebration."

Vendor Highlights

Island Cloud Island Cloud products feature custom Aloha floral printed polar fleece accessories, blankets and clothing for women and baby, designed by former Big Island resident, Arlene Kato. http://www.islandcloud.com/ Chinese Community Health Plan Chinese Community Health Plan (CCHP) a California Silenced HMO founded by Chinese Hospital Association started operating in 1987. CCHP's purpose is to provide access to affordable and culturally competent managed care for the Chinese community in San Francisco. Cal Performances Zellerbach Hall (UC Berkeley Campus) (510) 642-9988 www.calperformances.net Cal Performances offers audiences the most comprehensive range of high quality, live performances by the world's greatest established and emerging artists in dance, music and theater.  Located on the UC Berkeley campus, it invites all audiences to enjoy the entertaining and engaging experience of the performing arts from all disciplines and cultures in the most friendly and welcoming environment.  Asian artists performing in the 2007-2008 Cal Performances season include cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Guangzhou Ballet-presenting Mei Lanfang; Peking Acrobats and Bunraku-The National Puppet Theatre of Japan.  Stop by the Cal Performances booth for a complete schedule and enter to win tickets. KyLinTV KyLinTV is North America's premier IPTV service for Chinese language programming. Our service offers both 24/7 broadcast channels (the most Chinese channels in North America, a total of 31 channels from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S.) and Video On Demand (20,000+ hours of the latest movies and TV dramas). KyLinTV gives you the latest in Video-On-Demand technology so you can watch what you want - when you want it. There will be KyLinTV representatives on-site to demonstrate how KyLinTV works and all we have to offer. Stop by to check us out!!