Friday 8/8 – Thursday 8/14
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9 SATURDAY Between 1903 and 1905, more than 7,000 Korean immigrants landed in Honolulu Harbor. Working on Hawaiian sugar plantations for a dollar a day, they helped finance Korea’s war for independence from Japan. Today there are some two million Korean-Americans–51,400 in Illinois. This year’s Korean Street Festival will include events marking the centennial of Korean immigration. There will be food, crafts, games of go and Korean chess, demonstrations of traditional wedding ceremonies and martial arts, a fashion show, and a concert by the percussive music and dance quartet Samulnori Hanmoi, from Korea. Local rockers Panda Panda, Jenny Choi, Chiyoko Yoshida, and others also perform. The festival runs today from 11 to 10 and tomorrow, August 10, from 11 to 9 on Bryn Mawr between Kedzie and Kimball. Admission is free; for more information call 773-583-1700 or see www.koreanfestival.org.
“Poetry slam activity has become international in scope,” says local writer and Roosevelt University Learning Resource Center director Jeff Helgeson–especially since National Poetry Slam founder Marc Smith toured Europe last year. This afternoon European poets Pilote le Hot, K’TrinD, Ko Bylanzky, Verena Carl, Rayl Patzak, Jurg Halter, and Matthias Burki will discuss the state of spoken word overseas at a free book fair held in conjunction with the 2003 National Poetry Slam. The fair will also feature an African-American slam (at 1) and the “Feminist Hiss” slam (at 2:30). It runs from 11 to 4 and the panel discussion, moderated by Helgeson, starts at noon at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan. For more information on the National Poetry Slam, see the sidebar in Performance or www.nps2003.com or call 708-848-8007. i Fifty-eight years ago today the U.S. dropped the A-bomb on Nagasaki, which is why the antiwar group Not in Our Name chose this date to hold its resistance forum, the theme of which is Stop the U.S. War Machine. Speakers include Maoist political economist and author Raymond Lotta and gulf war conscientious objector Jeff Paterson; they’ll discuss regime change, neocolonialism, and the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of United Nations peacekeeping forces. There will also be performances by taiko drummers Patti and Emi Adachi and singer Louise Cloutier. It’s from 1 to 5 at DePaul University’s Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore, room 154, and there’s a suggested donation of $5. Call 312-942-1004 or see www.notinourname.net for more.
13 WEDNESDAY As part of the Chicago Historical Society’s three-year Teen Chicago project, local kids have been collecting oral histories from other residents. Eventually they’ll create a Web site, printed publications, and an exhibit that will explore what it’s like to grow up in Chicago. They’ll be collecting memories at today’s free outdoor Teen Chicago Steps Out dance party, which will feature food, live music, dance workshops and competitions, and spoken-word performances; guests include folks from the Old Town School of Folk Music, the University of Hip-Hop, Young Chicago Authors, and the Kapa Haka Dancers. It’s from 3 to 9 at the Chicago Historical Society, 1601 N. Clark; call 312-642-4600.
