Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the Arlington Public Library

By Arlington Public Library

Posted on May 01, 2024, May 01, 2024

The Arlington Public library invites the community to join us in celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Month with informative and engaging programs.

Every May the nation celebrates the history and contributions of Asian and Pacific Americans. This group encompasses East Asia, Southeast Asian, the Pacific Islands, and parts of the Middle East.  Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have played a major role in shaping the culture of the United States.

The accomplishments and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can be seen in all aspects of American culture. We invite you to check out books from authors like Rohinton Mistry, Hanya Yanagihara, Ocean Vuong, Randy Ribay, Mohsin Hamid, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Khaled Hosseini, and Megha Majumdar.

Explore new reads from Asian culture by participating in our AAPI Beanstack Reading Challenge. Choose a book from our reading list and earn your badge! The challenge runs form May 1st to May 31st. Join the challenge.

The Arlington Public Library will commemorate Asian American Pacific Islander Month with a series of programs.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Author Talk

Saturday, May 11, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Downtown Library

Join the Arlington Public Library in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month. Hear from two distinguished local AAPI authors about their experience publishing. Copies of the author’s book will be available for purchase.

The author talk will be followed by a Hula performance by Grace Hula Company with instruction on how to follow along with the dances.

Authors

Ann Katagiri
Ann Katagiri is a writer based in Fort Worth. She published “Den Chan: The Cat Who Crossed the Ocean,” a trilingual children’s book, in 2023.

Amanda Churchill
Amanda Churchill is a writer living in Texas. Her novel, The Turtle House, was inspired by the life of her grandmother, a Japanese war bride. Her work has been featured in Hobart Pulp, Witness, River Styx, and other publications.

Art After Dark: AAPI Heritage

Friday, May 17, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Southeast Branch

Explore your creative side in this after-hours artsy program for adults, AAPI edition! Participate in artistic and beautiful crafts from the Asian diaspora including Japanese origami, Korean maedeup knots, and Filipino-styled air-dry clay pottery.