2013 upcoming events presented by or in collaboration with Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT):
- Sunday, March 3, 1-3pm: Hinamatsuri, Japan’s Doll Festival at C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Ave., West Brattleboro.
- Saturday, March 16, 11am: Opening Reception for Hot Pot: A Taste of Contemporary Chinese Art, at Brattleboro Museum, 3/16/13 – 6/23/16. 10 Vernon St., downtown Brattleboro. More information on the Museum website.
- Sunday, March 24, 1pm: NawRuz (New Day) Celebration of southwest and central Asian, Persian, Sufi and Baha’i cultures at C.X. Silver Gallery, 814 Western Ave., West Brattleboro. [Also known as No Ruz, Navroz, Nauryz, and Nowruz, depending on the language.]
- Sunday, April 7, 2:30pm: The Scent of Spring Flowers: Selections in Traditional Chinese Music and Dance. Yabei Chen, Dance and Choreography, with Yan Li, Kevin Wang, and Hongyi Rafael Zhang on Di Zi (flute), Gu Zheng (zither), and Er Hu (2-stringed bowed instrument), at Brattleboro Museum, 10 Vernon St.
- Saturday, April 20, 3pm: Martial Arts with Shifu Damon Honeycutt, at Brattleboro Museum.
- Saturday, April 27, 8am-3pm: World Tai Chi Day in Brattleboro, at Crowell Lot, Western Avenue between Union and Green Streets.
- Saturday, April 27, 3pm: Cooking Lessons with Cai, at Brattleboro Museum.
- Sunday, May 19, 3pm: Chinese Calligraphy Book Making with Cai, at Brattleboro Museum.
- Friday, August 2, 5-8pm, during Gallery Walk: Tanabata-Obon, Japan’s double summer festivals in Brattleboro, in Plaza Park at the foot of Main Street between the Museum and the Co-Op.
- Thursday, September 19, 5:30-8:30pm: the 15th Annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival of China, Korea and Vietnam in Brattleboro, atop Memorial Park at the Kiwanis Pavilion.
- Keep in touch for more events to be arranged.
- ‘Friend’ us on Facebook for news of events and any date change. Check back here at the website for updated details.
- Join ACCVT’s email list for emailed notifications of events.
Sunday, April 7, 2013, 3pm, Brattleboro Museum in collaboration with Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) present
The Scent of Spring Flowers: An Afternoon of Chinese Music and Dance
In connection with its new exhibits featuring the work of internationally known Chinese artists, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) in collaboration with ACCVT presents practitioners of traditional Chinese culture located right in its own backyard. On Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m., BMAC presents “The Scent of Spring Flowers,” a program of traditional Chinese music and dance performed by students and faculty of Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH in Gill, MA), all ages welcome. NMH students Yan Li, Kevin Wong, and Hongyi Rafael Zhang will play the erhu (two-stringed bowed instrument), guzheng (plucked zither), and dizi (transverse flute). Dance teacher Yabei Chen will perform a traditional dance with water-sleeves and fans. As a child in China, Chen practiced gymnastics, building a solid foundation for her flexibility. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to the United States, where dance came to play an important role in her life. An avid teacher and performer, Chen says, “I cannot picture my life without dancing. Dancing has enriched my life to an extent that it has become an essential part of me.”
Sunday, March 3, 2013, 1:00 – 3pm, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
Hinamatsuri, Japan’s Doll festival in Brattleboro
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
Lunar New Year of China, Korea and Vietnam
Vietnamese dragon, Lunar New Year Festival of Korea, Vietnam and China; the River Garden, Brattleboro 2011
- At the River Garden, 157 Main St, downtown Brattleboro.
- Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013, 1:00 – 3:30pm
- 10th annual celebration in southeastern Vermont
- It’s a potluck! Bring hors d’oeuvres, appetizers or refreshments to share and sample a wide variety of Asian and non-Asian treats.
- Try singing a New Year’s song from East Asia.
- Make a paper lantern or some origami.
- Martial arts demonstrations by Kyoshi Patrick Donohue and his Brattleboro School of Budo.
- Shifu Damon Honeycutt will also perform some martial arts with visiting students.
- Try group Chinese exercise and calligraphy.
- Get into a Korean tug-of-war.
- Dance with the 30-foot Vietnamese Dragon. The dragon dance goes outside for a loop around Main Street, a 10-minute parade.
- This enormous marionette, requiring at least 9 people to hold it, is forever chasing the ‘heavenly pearl’ according to Chinese folklore. The pearl is symbolized by a wire globe mounted on a staff and decorated with tiny bells.
- Seth Harter, Director of Asian Studies at Marlboro College, brought this extraordinary dragon back from the village of an accomplished Vietnamese craftsman. During the rest of the year, the dragon ‘lives’ at the Marlboro College.
- You don’t have to be Asian or know anything about Asia to participate!
- Don’t miss the 30-foot Vietnamese dragon, visiting around 3 o’clock.
- For more information, contact ACCVT Executive Director Adam Silver, (802) 579-9008.
- This is a free public event for all ages, donations to ACCVT, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational resource organization, are always appreciated to offset programming costs and space rental at the River Garden.
- View the pictures at Flickr of ACCVT’s Lunar New Year in 2011 when the celebration was also held at The River Garden. Another picture set of the festival at the River Garden also on Flickr dates from 2008.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013, 1-3pm, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
Shogatsu: Japanese New Year in Brattleboro
- a gathering celebrating Japanese culture at the New Year
- featuring activities for all ages
- food, cultural games, art activities for kids
- a Japanese tea ceremony
- and more. Bring food to share for the potluck.
Shogatsu is the most important festival of the year for many Japanese people. It looms large for many Japanese people as Thanksgiving and Christmas does for Americans in the United States. It’s a time for family and friends to get together and, like American New Year, a time to make changes in one’s life and bring in the new in a variety of ways. For Vermont, it’s an opportunity to celebrate for the whole community, neighbors, relatives, fellow townsfolk and to experience different cultures’ celebrations noticing the similarities and the variety that makes for differences.
Until the 19th century, Shogatsu’s occurrence was based on the lunar calendar. Since the mid 19th century, Shogatsu has been celebrated annually on January 1st. ‘Sho’ means first and ‘gatsu’ means moon or month. Shogatsu means ‘first month’ or ‘New Year.’
For more information contact (802) 257-7898, ext. 1 or visit accvt.org. Email inquiries may be sent to Board Trustee Anthony Parmenter (anthony.parmenter [at] gmail [dot] com) or Executive Director Adam Silver (adamsilvervt [at] gmail [dot] com).
Directions: I-91 Exit 2, right turn off the exit ramp, nine-tenths mile west on VT Route 9 (Western Avenue), just past Melrose St, 3rd building after the bridge on the left. Parking is available on the Avenue (careful if crossing the street).
Sunday, September 30, 2012, 5:30-8pm, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
Brattleboro’s 14th Annual Mid Autumn Moon Festival of
China, Korea and Vietnam
[Images of the event coming here]
Friday, August 3, 2012, 5-8pm, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
Brattleboro’s Tanabata-Obon Festival 2012
There’s an album of images from the 2011 Tanabata-Obon event at:
Sunday, May 20, 2012, 1-3 p.m., Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
Brattleboro Kite Festival of Japan, China and India
- for all ages, rain or shine
- Location: The Kiwanis Shelter atop Living Memorial Park
- Craft Activities * Games * Calligraphy * Poetry * Music
- Decorate koinobori, a giant carp-shaped windsocks or streamers.
- Make Japanese, Chinese, or Indian kites
- Bring your own kite to show and fly
- Try Chinese and Japanese writing, calligraphy and poetry dedicated to the Spring.
- Storytelling of tales about kites
- Make an origami frog that hops and an eensy weensy spider that climbs.
- This free event has a bake sale, plus, donations are welcome to help defray the cost of site rental and other programming expenses. Furthermore, donations are requested if acquiring or using kite materials provided at the festival.
- This festival combines two children’s day festivals, Japan’s (Kodomo-No-Hi on May 5) and China’s (Ertong Jie on June 1). Kite flying is featured in several festivals of India during the year.
- The purpose of these festivals is to value the personalities of children, consider their happiness, and thank their parents.
- The carp has been traditionally chosen as the shape of the windsock or streamer in Japan because it symbolizes strength and success. In China, legend has it that the carp once swam upstream to become an auspicious dragon, the benefactor of the natural world and of the abundance of the world for which humans give thanks.
- Photo album of the 2012 Kite Fest is on flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/asianculturevermont/sets/72157630739569994/.
- Directions to Memorial Park Kiwanis Pavilion: From downtown Brattleboro and I-91, 1/4 mile west on Route 9 Western Avenue from I-91 exit 2. Left turn across the Citizens Bridge (next to the pedestrian-only covered bridge). Then, first right all the way up the winding hill, continuing past the baseball diamond on the left, and the pool and rink on the right. Once parking fills up at the top, park on one side of the drive that leads up to the top.
- For further information, contact Adam Silver at (802) 579-9088.
Friday, May 4th, 5-8pm, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) will have a table during Gallery Walk in Harmony Parking Lot off Elliot Street in downtown Brattleboro as part of the Diversity Day festivities. There will be a bake sale and also, for a donation, henna decoration will be done.
With great appreciation, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) has received a hina-ningyo display, 
a set of ornamental dolls that celebrate one of the most important festivals of Japan. The display, on a specially made platform, is recreated during the days leading up to Japan’s Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) on March 3, celebrated for centuries to the present day. The Doll Festival is full of wishes for happiness, healthy growth and success. This display was donated to ACCVT by Hatsue Yokoi with thanks to Setsuko and Akio Ichinomiya for finding the display, preparing it and sending it to Vermont. Thank you to Yasuko Ichinomiya for setting up the display. The dolls have the traditional 9th to 12th century court dress of Japan’s Heian Period. The doll displays are generally heirlooms passed down within families. ACCVT is indeed fortunate to acquire this set and anticipates a display in late February / early March of 2013. For more details and pictures of the individual dolls, visit the doll festival page.
Friday, April 6, 2012, 8:30pm, at Brattleboro Museum: How did sushi become a global cuisine? What began as a simple but elegant food sold by Tokyo street vendors has become a worldwide phenomenon in the past 30 years. Sushi: The Global Catch (75 mins.) (Special Jury Award Winner, 2011 Seattle International Film Festival) is a feature-length documentary shot in five nations that explores the tradition, growth and future of this popular cuisine. Beautiful raw pieces of fish and rice now appear from Warsaw and New York to football games in Texas towns. Can this growth continue without consequence? The first Friday of each month, following Brattleboro’s popular Gallery Walk, BMAC presents Art Films After Gallery Walk, screenings of cinematic gems for only $5. Location: 10 Vernon Street, downtown Brattleboro.
Sunday March 18, 2012, 1:30pm-3:30 pm, at the Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) headquarters: 814 Western Ave., 1 mile west of I-91 Exit 2, on VT Route 9, on the left, West Brattleboro.
NoRuz / NawRuz: New Day, New Light, New Year in Persian and Central Asian Cultures:
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents an annual introduction to this ancient and current multicultural festival. Nowruz is celebrated in many parts of Asia and by Asians worldwide coinciding with the Spring Equinox with activities for all ages around the focus of the spread (sofreh) of auspicious items. No Ruz (Persian for ‘New Year’ or ‘New Day’) has been observed for thousands of years by the ancient cultures of Persia (present-day Iran), and has been celebrated as ‘Nauryz’ and ‘Navroz’ for thousands of years up to today by many peoples, countries and faiths including (not limited to) Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the Baha’i, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kurds, Kyrgyzstan, the Sufis, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Uighurs in N.W. China, Uzbekistan, and the Zoroastrians (Parsi). Activities for this Brattleboro event include: a pot-luck lunch, readings from the Quran, the Baha’i Holy Writings and poetry by the Sufi poet, Rumi, and a review of the beginnings of No Rooz in the Asian world. There will be music, activities for children, learning Persian greetings and phrases to wish others well, and the tradition of sprouted grasses. There is also the customs of setting the special table or spread (sofreh) with seven plates or bowls containing items all beginning with the Persian sound ‘s’ and ‘sh’ all symbolizing peace, prosperity, growth and other auspicious meanings. NawRuz (No Ruz/Nauryz/Navroz/Nowruz) celebrates the arrival of Spring and is a thanksgiving celebration. A free event for all ages; donations to ACCVT are appreciated. Below is an example of the ACCVT sofreh:
Sunday, January 15, 2012, 1 – 3:30 pm, Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents
the Lunar New Year Festival of Vietnam, Korea and China
- in downtown Brattleboro at the Brattleboro Museum (BMAC),
- 10 Vernon Street at the junction of Routes 5, 119 and 142.
- Ushering in the Year of the Dragon,
- this annual celebration begins with lots of food: it’s a potluck. Bring a dish or some refreshments to share, either Asian or non-Asian, whatever you can manage.
- A craft and coloring table for younger children;
- T’ai chi and Chinese exercises, martial arts demonstrations;
- Group calligraphy mural, Lunar New Year song, and more;
- the Dragon dancing in a community parade;
- For further information, visit the event page or contact ACCVT Executive Director Adam Silver at (802) 257-7898 extension 1 or (802) 579-9088 or ACCVT Board President Michelle Mahin at (413) 244-3016.
- All ages are welcome to this free public event.
- Donations to ACCVT, a 501(c)(3) educational resource organization, are always greatly appreciated.
Slide Talk by Steev Lynn. Event location: 814 Western Avenue, West Brattleboro, VT.
Asian Cultural Center of Vermont (ACCVT) presents “Land of Rice: Farming cultures in Assam and Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta” with Steev Lynn, one of ACCVT’s first trustees. Steev is giving an illustrated slide talk on a recent visit to Northeastern India and the Burmese delta region of the Irrawaddy. The event is free and open to the public. Donations to ACCVT are appreciated, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational resource agency that connects people through the arts and cultures of all Asia.
