Chinatown Summer nights – last two Saturdays

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Part food event ~ part summer party ~ Chinatown Summer Nights is a vibrant showcase of the Chinese American experience, and so much more!

Best of all, this event is FREE!

This Saturday and next, from 5pm until midnight, Chinatown Summer Nights will showcase this historic and cultural area”™s restaurants and bars, stores and art galleries with lively evenings devoted to all kinds of entertainment and discovery.

You can watch Chinese chefs perform cooking demonstrations, purchase art works from Los Angeles artists at the LA Craft Experience, take part in hands-on, Chinese cultural activities presented by local organizations and museums, sip on Chinese beer and dance in Central Plaza to the musical stylings of KCRW”™s DJ”™s.

This Saturday”™s theme is “˜Harmony”™ so on August 21^st, join intrepid and daring LA food blogger Eddie Lin – of Deep End Dining fame – as he leads a captivating exploration into the work of local chefs from Golden Dragon Restaurant [5-6pm] and Hop Woo BBQ Seafood Restaurant [8-9pm].

In addition to the cooking demonstrations, there”™s live music; large-scale, outdoor video projections; martial arts demonstrations; interactive dance and movement workshops; creative workshops for the family and also temporary public art installations.

You can experience the many culinary offerings of Chinatown as well as a selection of LA”™s gourmet food trucks, such as Nom Nom Truck, India Jones Chow Truck, Spring Street Smoke House, The Patty Wagon, Papas Tapas and Fry Smith.

One of the best benefits of the festival is the availability of generous discounts to various local Chinatown restaurants. You can print the coupons here or pick them up at the festival”™s information booth.  Some of these discounts are even valid until the end of the year!

Participating restaurants include:

Hop Woo Barbeque Seafood Restaurant;  New Dragon Seafood; Golden Dragon; Foo Chow Restaurant; Mandarin Chateau Restaurant.

For full list and coupons, go here.

WHERE:

Chinatown Los Angeles: Central and West Plazas, between Broadway and Yale Streets, from College to Bernard Streets, Los Angeles, CA 90012

WHEN:

Saturday Nights during August, 2010
21^st & 28^th
5 pm to midnight

FREE to the public.

SPONSORS:

Presented by Community Arts Resources (CARS), the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), and KCRW, in association with the Chinatown Service Center, the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Los Angeles Firecracker Run Committee, Inc., the Chinatown Business Improvement District, LA New Chinatown Corporation, and the ChungKing Plaza Association.

More info here.

LINE UP:

Saturday, August 21st “¢ HARMONY

Community Sponsor: Chinese American Citizens Alliance

West Plaza & Chung King Road

• Family Workshop
  Presented by the Chinese American Museum
  5pm – 8pm
  Lantern Making Workshop: A cultural art workshop for all ages teaches families Chinese American Culture through an easy-to-learn tradition.
• Cooking Demonstrations
  5pm – 6pm & 8pm – 9pm
  In conjunction with the Chinatown Business Improvement District, Chinatown Summer Nights presents chefs from various Chinatown restaurants whose cooking demonstrations showcase a variety of regional cuisines and cooking techniques.
• On August 21st, join Los Angeles food blogger Eddie Lin – Deep End Dining – as he leads a captivating exploration into the work of local chefs from Golden Dragon Restaurant [5-6pm] and Hop Woo BBQ Seafood Restaurant [8-9pm].
• Food Trucks
  5pm – 10pm
  Choose from an array of LA”™s most popular food trucks, representing the newest culinary trends in the city.

Central Plaza

• Martial Arts Workshop with Fenton Fong Eng
  6pm – 7:30pm
  Join renowned instructor Fenton Fong Eng as he teaches the basics of the ancient martial art of Kung Fu.
  Under the instructor of Master Tak Wah Eng, Fenton Fong Eng has been studying traditional Kung Fu since he was a teenager.
• KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole
  8pm – 11pm
  Dance to the sounds of KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole, whose show airs every Thursday from midnight to 3 am. Chicago-born Jeremy Sole has been a deejay and record collector for over 15 years. As a teenager, his education was throwing underground loft parties at the birth of Hip Hop and House
  music. He matured as a turntablist in Jazz, Dub and experimental hybrid bands. The rich Chicago history of Blues, Jazz, Soul and Funk were all part of his upbringing, and as a true music lover Jeremy has always found a way to blend them all together.
• Food Trucks
  5pm – midnight

Saturday, August 28th “¢ LONGEVITY

Community Sponsor: The Los Angeles Firecracker Run Committee, Inc.

West Plaza & Chung King Road

• Family Workshop
  Presented by the Huntington
  5pm – 8pm
  The Huntington Library will air its award-winning, 20-minute documentary on the construction of its Chinese Garden, Liu Fang Yuan, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance. Families will also have the opportunity to preview the design plans for the Next Phase of construction and try their own hand at creating poetic names for some of the Huntington”™s pavilions in an interactive activity book.
• Cooking Demos
  5pm – 6pm & 8pm – 9pm
  On August 28th, enjoy demonstrations by local chefs from Golden City Restaurant [5-6pm] and Hop Woo BBQ Seafood Restaurant [8-9pm].
• Food Trucks
  5pm – 10pm
  Choose from an array of LA”™s most popular food trucks, representing the newest culinary trends in the city.

Central Plaza

• Interactive Dance – Hot Latin Night with world-renowned instructor Laura Canellias
  6pm – 7:30pm
  Heat up the streets of Chinatown as you learn to Salsa, Bachata, and Merengue with world-renowned Latin instructor Laura Canellias.
• KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd
  8pm – 11pm
  Dance to the sounds of KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd, whose show airs every Friday from midnight to 3am, where Aaron takes you on musical journey around the world. His show explores sounds from the favelas of Brazil to the Taureg culture of Timbuktu in search of the perfect groove. In order to expose the universal sounds that unite us one and all as we once were, Aaron surveys the roots of all cultures. No one genre is left undiscovered.
• Food Trucks
  5pm – midnight

Report by Pauline Adamek