SAVE THE DATE: IE’s First annual FASHION SHOW & COMPETITION on Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

Thursday, 4/16
The Japan America Society Annual Dinner and Meeting. Keynote speaker: Nicole Piasecki, President, Boeing Japan. Featuring the Fourth Annual Thomas Foley Award. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Dinner and award ceremony is at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For questions, please contact Rebecca Retzler at the JAS office (206) 374-0180 or rretzler@us-japan.org.

Friday, 4/17 – 4/19
Safeco Insurance Festál: Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival. Festival explores Seattle's deep connections with Japan and celebrates the beauty of spring. Delicious Japanese food, tea ceremony demonstrations and artwork present both a modern and ancient view of this complex culture. 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Center House and Fisher Pavilion. For more information on Safeco Insurance Festál 2009 as well as a complete listing of Seattle Center events, visit: http://www.seattlecenter.com.

Saturday, 4/18
Presenting the Vietnamese Student Association of UW’s (VSA-UW) Hoa Khoi Pageant. The pageant celebrates accomplished Vietnamese college girls in the community. Profits will be used to fund the VSA’s philanthropy project of the year, a medical mission to Vietnam. The winner earns a scholarship. The event will be held at the UW campus, Kane Hall 130, from 1 – 4:30 p.m. Ticket Price: $10 Pre-Sale, $15 At-the-Door, $20 VIP (Pre-sale only).

Saturday, 4/18
NAAAP-Seattle teams up with FamilyWorks food bank to support their food drive efforts at Wallingford QFC between 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Location will be at FamilyWorks Food Bank & Family Center, 1501 N. 45th St. Seattle. NAAAP is looking for volunteers to hand out flyers, ask people for donations, and collect donated food on their way out. In 2008, FamilyWorks food bank experienced an 80 percent increase in individuals served and the numbers are continuing to grow. Pleas contact www.naaap.seattle.org.

Saturday, 4/18
Helping Link collaborates with the Vietnamese Heritage Language School to present the Spring 2009’s “Learning to Teach Vietnamese” Training For Parents, Community Members, current and future Vietnamese Language Teachers. From 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Asian Counseling Service Center (ACRS), 3639 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Seattle. $35.00/per person or $30.00/per group of 10+ people. Fee includes training booklet, light breakfast, lunch and drinks. Registration Deadline: Friday, April 3, 2009. Please contact Phi Khanh Hoang for the registration form at (360) 402-6911 or e-mail kelvinh230@gmail.com.

Tuesday, 4/21
The 40th annual Earth Day Celebration and Benefit for Seattle Youth Garden. The Reggae concert will help to empower youth to cultivate the earth. Performances by Kore Ionz, Clinton Fearon (acoustic), Dub Down, and DJ DAG. At Neumo’s, 925 E Pike St, Seattle. Doors at 8 p.m. $10 advance tickets at www.ticketswest.com, select QFC’s, Moe Bar, and Rudy’s Barbershops. Web site: www.koreionz.com, www.neumos.com Email: info@koreionz.com, or contact Daniel Pak at (206) 420-4279.

Friday, 4/24
OneAmerica, With Justice for All, Invites you to attend its 8th annual Dinner & Awards Celebration at 6 p.m. at the Wash. State Convention Center. The dinner honors outstanding community partner, K.C. Executive Ron Sims (to receive Special Recognition). Join OneAmerica as they honor the contributions of those who have played an outstanding role in promoting equality and justice for immigrants in Washington State. This year's awardees include: AILA, the American Immigration Lawyer's Association (Washington), and the Church Council of Greater Seattle. To RSVP, visit www.weareoneamerica.org or for questions, call (206) 723-2203 X210 or specialevents@weareoneamerica.org.

Friday, 4/27
Visionshock Seattle and ICHS Party For A Cause! ICHS provides culturally, a linguistically appropriate health care to the API community and others. ICHS is the largest Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community health center in Washington State. The goal is to generate financial resources for uninsured and underserved patients, capital improvements and services expansion efforts, and culturally appropriate health education and prevention services. This is a 21+ event, 23+ preferred. Located at Tia Lous, 2218 1st Ave, Seattle. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. Fashionable and upscale attire required. Please print out and bring the ICHS flyer at www.ICHS.org and get on the guest list for free admission before 10:00 p.m. and discounted cover all night. To attend this event, please contact info@visionshockseattle.com or call (206) 388-3309.

Tuesday, 4/28
International Community Services in partnership with the Seattle Public Library and Seattle Parks and Recreation offers a workshop on Cancer Prevention with Q&A. 6-7 p.m. International District Community Center, 719 8th Ave S, Seattle; open to everyone, no fees. To register, call Duan Li at (206) 386-1300 or Lori VanNorman at (206) 233-0042.

Wednesday, 4/29
Party Down for Chinatown! The ScidPDA’s ID Spring Roll 2009 will take place at the Showbox SoDo from 6 – 9 p.m. Join ScidPDA for a lively cultural celebration featuring pan-Asian food and drink, a spring roll eating contest, and performances headlined by Massive Monkees, internationally-renowned break-dancing crew and B-Boy World Champions! The Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (ScidPDA) works to preserve, promote, and develop the Seattle Chinatown International District as a vibrant community and unique ethnic neighborhood. Ticket proceeds support ScidPDA’s community development programs and projects. Tickets are $90 general admission and $125 VIP. Participants must be 21 years and older. For questions about the event and sponsorship and volunteer opportunities or to RSVP, contact Fen Hsiao at fenh@scidpda.org or call (206) 838-8240.

Sunday, 5/3
Discover Island Culture at Safeco Insurance Festál: Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration. Martial arts, drumming and the work of renowned Asian artists are featured from noon – 5:00 p.m, in the Center House at Seattle Center. The festival, which kicks off Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Seattle, explores the deeply rooted cultures of Asia through spectacular cultural dances, youth drill teams, Taiko drumming and incredible performers from around the state. This diverse culture includes China, the Philippines, India, Japan, the South Pacific Islands and Cambodia. Joining the Celebration this year is "America's Got Talent" finalist, LA-based Tatum Jones, along with Cambodian dancers, Chinese and Filipino youth drill teams, Fujima School of Dance with Connie Sugahara, Seattle Matsuri Taiko, classical dance of India (Odissi), Voviam Martial Arts, Legacies of War exhibit and a full afternoon of Asian Pacific Island arts and culture.

Tuesday, 5/5
Kick off API Heritage and Hepatitis Awareness month! The Hepatitis B Taskforce invites you to hear and participate in conversations about hepatitis B efforts in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities, with a special presentation from keynote speaker Anthony Chen, MD, MPH, Director of Health Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Dr. Chen will share his experiences with the Task Force in its early years and his perspective of the local and national hepatitis B efforts and movement. The event will be at the Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant, 900 S Jackson #203, Seattle. Form 6 – 8:30 p.m. RSVPs are required by Friday, May 1. Contact Kim Nguyen at (206) 830-5156 or e-mail kimn@withinreachwa.org.

Thursday, 5/7
Dim Sum and Then Some! Dine with the International District Housing Alliance and learn the secrets of dim sum cuisine. Local chef, Maxine Chan, will teach the art of making dim sum. Guests will be treated to an hour-long cooking demonstration, learn about Chinese teas and dine on the International District's finest Chinese cuisine, including dim sum and additional entrees. Dim sum means "to touch your heart." Join us and help IDHA continue to touch the hearts of the people we serve! 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (check-in begins 5:00 p.m.) at New Hong Kong Restaurant, 900 South Jackson St. #203. Tickets: $60. To purchase, visit http://IDHAdimsum.eventbrite.com. For questions, contact GiveToIDHA@apialliance.org or call Miya Forrest at (206) 623-5132 ext 319.

Wednesday, 5/13
The NAAAP-Seattle Diversity Career Expo – Exploring Opportunities, is hosted by the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) Seattle Chapter, NAAAP and coordinators encourage people to take this opportunity to start building relationships with potential employees for their company. Regardless of whether or not your company is hiring, building relationships with qualified job seekers now can set your company up for great success later. It’s important for our local API professionals to know about the different orgs that serve our community. The Career Fair is scheduled from Noon - 6:00 p.m. at the Union Station Great Hall, 401 S Jackson St, Seattle. Please send all completed applications to be a vendor or sponsor to caroline.li@tdwang.com or call (206) 733-0196 for any additional questions. More information about the NAAAP-Seattle Diversity Career Expo can be found at http://www.naaapseattle.org.

Saturday, 5/16
The South Asian women’s organization, Chaya, hosts its 6th annual fundraiser. Chaya, is a community organization devoted to serving South Asian women in times of crisis and raising awareness around domestic violence issues. The 6th annual Dinner and Auction will be held at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, 721 Pine Street, Seattle) at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the Web site for a donation of $90 (on sale now) and both individuals and groups are invited to attend. The theme for this year’s auction is “Peace Begins with Me” – a mantra that evokes Chaya’s commitment to empowering individuals to speak out about violence in their families and communities for the last 13 years. For more information on Chaya and the auction, please visit www.chayaseattle.org or contact: Uma Rao at (206) 568-7576 or e-mail her at uma@chayaseattle.org.

Saturday, 5/30
The International Community Health Services (ICHS)' 2009 annual fundraising Gala, benefits over 16,000 patients seen annually by ICHS. In the current economic climate, our patients need your support more than ever as the demand for ICHS' affordable, accessible, and culturally relevant health care continues to rise. ICHS is the only primary care facility in the state that consistently serves limited English-proficient (LEP) and/or low-income Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) as well as other communities. Honorary Co-Chairs are Phyllis Campbell & Martha Choe and the emcee is Enrique Cerna of KCTS. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Weston Seattle, 1900 Fifth Ave. Early-Bird: $100/person; $1,000/table (before April 30). Regular: $125/person; $1,250/table (after April 30). For information, call the ICHS Foundation at (206) 788-3694.

Saturday, 6/20
The 19th Annual Walk for Rice. The walk is a 2.5 mile walk/run and all proceeds benefit the Asian Counseling and Referral Service Food Bank, which provides culturally-appropriate foods to more than 5,000 households each month. The walk will be held at Seward Park, 5902 Lake Washington Blvd S, Seattle, 8 a.m. to noon. Shuttle services will be available from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ACRS (3639 MLK Jr. Way S, Seattle). Registration is free! More information is available at www.walkforrice.org. Contact events@acrs.org or call (206) 695-7551.

Announcements
The Ayame Kai Guild will be holding their annual Craft Fair on Saturday, November 21, 2009. If you are an artist or crafter interested in selling items at the craft fair, please contact either Shizue Yahata at 425.255.8723 or Cheryl Sakura at 425.827.4930. Proceeds from the fair benefit Nikkei Concerns.

DIABETES RESEARCH STUDY SEEKING APIS Rainier Clinical Research Center is a seeking Asian Americans with Diabetes to participate in a research study. The study will require one 90-minute visit to the research clinic in Renton. Subjects will have an ultrasound examination to measure skin and subcutaneous thickness. The test requires application of a topical ultrasound gel and an ultrasound skin scan and at four different locations. Eligible participants must be between the ages of 18 and 85 and be diagnosed with Diabetes. Participants will receive compensation for time and travel. The study is being conducted by a large US producer of diabetes-related products. For more information on this study call Rainier Clinical Research Center at 1-888-478-8343.

The Northwest Journalists of Color is offering scholarships of up to $2,500 to Washington state college and high students considering a career in journalism. NJC is an alliance of working journalists who are committed to newsroom diversity. They aim to encourage students of color to pursue careers in journalism by offering the financial assistance and professional guidance they’ll need to find a job. A panel of professional Seattle journalists will select scholarship winners based on journalistic ability, dedication to the field and financial need. There is no requirement the applicant be a minority. Scholarship recipients will be invited to a Scholarship banquet where they will receive their awards and have the opportunity to meet and create relationships with a network of professional journalist from the Pacific Northwest, who will also be attending the banquet and support the NJC mission. Each scholarship winner will also be connected to a mentor who is selected based on the recipient's interests and career goals. The scholarship is open to all Washington state college and high school students, as well as Washington residents attending out-of-state colleges. Applications must be postmarked by April 24, 2009. Please send completed applications to: Northwest Journalists of Color Scholarship c/o Caroline Li, 14601 9th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98155. For more information, visit www.aajaseattle.org or e-mail editor@earthwalkersmag.com.