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Monthly Newsletter | SEPTEMBER 2019

| September Highlights |

Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration was co-hosted with the Chicago Park District, Night Out In The Park, Field Museum, Roots & Routes Initiative in Set in Stone at the Burnham Wildlife Corridor. Special thanks to the Nature Conservancy Illinois, Audubon Society of Great Lakes Region, and Truong Enterprises. We are grateful for the help from our partnering organizations, museum members and staff, and volunteers!

Check out more photos HERE and Follow us on Facebook and see more Chinese cultural events in the future!
Screening + Presentation
"Making Ties: The CangDong Village Project"
We were honored to present Making Ties project last Sunday with Barre Fong.
Thanks for bringing a great event to our museum audience, and special thanks to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art for making this possible.
Check out photos HERE
“Building Community, Chinatown Style” by Gordon Chin
Thank you Gordon Chin for sharing your inspiring experiences, rich history and stories for how Chinatown persevered to be a thriving neighborhood today, and what modern Chinatown would be through leadership. Learn more about the book HERE
September is a month in which we have the first day of Fall as well as the Mid-Autumn Festival! 

In Chinatown, the display of lanterns and an abundance of moon cakes for sale in stores indicate the coming of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese families are getting ready to celebrate the second most important and also the most romantic festivals in the Chinese culture.

We, as a Chinese American museum, celebrated the festival together with 260 individuals in Set In Stone Park under a bright full moon on September 14, 2019. Among those who attended, quite a number were children who were thrilled to participate in planting activities, learn to make paper lanterns and rabbit masks, get a foldable lantern with LED candle inside, wear a glowing necklace or bracelet, and see four fairytale-like characters – Chang E (the Moon Goddess), Hau Yi (Chang E’s husband who shot down nine suns from the sky to save our earth from melting), Jade Rabbit (Chang E’s companion in the moon palace), and Wu Gang (who is forever cutting a never-dying tree on the moon) – walking among them.

We want to thank all our volunteers who helped make the event a success that night. As we have more and more events coming, we need volunteers! Please don’t hesitate to scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter, click the “Visit Our Volunteer Page” button, download a volunteer application form, fill it out and join us.

Don't miss the upcoming exciting events in the next two months: Screening of OFFICE on October 5, REPATRIATION OF CULTURAL PATRIMONY Exhibition on October 10, A CULINARY JOURNEDY: HOW CHINESE WORKERS BUILT THE RAILROAD on October 12, and SWAN SOONG – A PLAY FEATURING THE FAMOUS SISTERS OF SHANGHAI on November 16. 
| Monthly Spotlight |
Our New Volunteer - Sophia

Let's welcome our new volunteer Sophia Liang!

Sophia serves as the Guest Service Associate, and her cheerfulness and passion infect everyone around her. She actively participates in our activities and becomes an indispensable member of our team.

She shared her immigration story at the YOUR STORY OUR STORY workshop. Check out her story HERE .

| Upcoming Events |
Screening of OFFICE (華麗上班族)
Sat, October 5, 2019
2:00 PM

We are pleased to present a screening with  Asian Pop Up Cinema again this year! Office is a movie musical spectacular revolving around corporate maneuvering and romantic intrigue. Hong Kong legend Johnnie To delivers a biting takedown of capitalism, detailing the financial crisis following the Lehman Brothers collapse and what one company has to do to fight to stay alive - all in a lavishly detailed, wholly original musical production.

The film won the Best Art Direction in the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 52nd Golden Horse Awards.  Learn more
REPATRIATION OF CULTURAL PATRIMONY Exhibition
Thu, October 10, 2019
5:00 PM

The REPATRIATION OF CULTURAL PATRIMONY Exhibition at the National Hellenic Museum (NHM) is a collaborative project that aims to raise the awareness of pursuing the return of art or cultural heritage, often referring to ancient or looted art, to their country of origin or former owners.

Doors Open at 5 pm to Pop-Up Exhibits; Followed by Panel Discussion from 6 pm to 8 pm.

Partnering Organizations: Chinese American Museum of Chicago (CAMOC), Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago (ECAC), Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, and National Hellenic Museum (NHM). Learn more
This exhibition is part of the Inherit Chicago Program by Chicago Cultural Alliance. Inherit Chicago is a month-long festival of intercultural art, ideas and performance at neighborhood heritage institutions, make sure you check out other exciting events throughout the month. Learn more
A Culinary Journey: How Chinese Workers Built the Railroad



Sat, October 12, 2019
2:oo PM-4:00 PM

Join us for a journey back to how the Chinese built the railroad! In this interactive sensory program, learn about the healthy habits of Chinese workers who built the first transcontinental railroad system. Enjoy the food of the health conscious railroad workers through a cooking demonstration from Chef Don B. Lee. The food will also be paired with different types of Chinese tea.

We are excited to participate in Inherit Chicago Program by Chicago Cultural Alliance. Inherit Chicago is a month-long festival of intercultural art, ideas and performance at neighborhood heritage institutions, make sure you check out other exciting events throughout the month. Learn more
How the Chinese Helped Build the Railroad that Helped Build America
Fri, October 18, 2019
10:00-12:00 AM
Chicago Campus: Wieboldt Hall, 339 E. Chicago Ave .

Two Hours Special Event: Edward Jung and Mark Chiang, Ph.D. from
the Chinese American Museum of Chicago will join the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Northwestern University to explore the
experience of the immigrant Chinese workers in the late 1800s and their
importance in building America. It is a fascinating story that is not widely
known — racism and xenophobia made it easy for later generations to
forget. It is the story of 20,000 Chinese laborers (approximately 90% of
the workforce) who toiled from 1863-1869 to build the Central Pacific
Railroad which ran from California to Utah and ultimately connected to
the first transcontinental railroad.
Swan Soong | A Play featuring the Famous Sisters of Shanghai
Sat, November 16, 2019
2:oo PM – 5:00 PM

Swan Soong” is a family drama play based upon the lives of the famous Chinese Soong sisters and their biographer, American writer and Wilmette, IL native Emily (Mickey) Hahn. Notorious for her cigar smoking brand of feminism and for her love affair with Chinese poet Sinmay Zau, she's a questionable fit for the task.

The play is based on real-life people, is rich in history and contains strong 1940’s-style movie characters that are fast-talking, smart, resourceful and tough women. In the world of the play, the Soong sisters fight to keep their family together to unite and build a new China. Learn more

| Museum News |
World DUMPLING Fest at Navy Pier
As one of the core members of the Chicago Cultural Alliance, CAMOC participated in the Word Dumpling Fest at Navy Pier. Many thanks to Board directors Soo Lon Moy, Mabel Menard, Rich Frachey, and Swee Cheng as well as volunteers Ram Moy and Viable Shum for their support. More photos HERE.
Chinese Cultural Festival at Whitney Young Magnet High
We participated in the Chinese Cultural Festival at Whitney Young Magnet High School. Board director John Rohsenow and two volunteers, Tina Yang and Miaoming Zhong, showed the students what patterns tangram could create. Tangram is reputed to have been invented in China during the Song Dynasty.
Celebrating two Anniversaries at Ping Tom Park
The Friends of the Chicago River celebrated its 40th anniversary at Ping Tom Park. At the same time, Ping Tom Park also celebrated its 20th anniversary. A new mural, “Between the Mountains and the Water," created by Anna Murphy was unveiled and dedicated during a daylong festival at the Park.
Xin Hui Association Celebration
Chicago Xin Hui Association held a dinner on September 8, 2019 to celebrate its founding. Government officials, elected officials and community leaders were invited to attend.

Board President Soo Lon Moy and Executive Director Ben Lau joined the celebration.

| Volunteers Wanted! |

We are looking for dedicated, reliable, and energetic individuals who would like to experience our historic institution from the inside — as volunteers! We need volunteers for docents, greeters and special events. If you are interested in volunteering for us, please use the button below to visit our related page and download a volunteer form:
About Us

The mission of the Chinese American Museum of Chicago - Raymond B. & Jean T. Lee Center (CAMOC) is is to advance the appreciation of Chinese American culture through exhibitions, education, and research and to preserve the past, present, and future of Chinese Americans primarily in the Midwest.

The museum building, formerly the Quong Yick Co., is located in Chicago's Chinatown, at 238 West 23rd Street in Chicago. The Museum opened to the public on May 21, 2005. After a devastating fire in September of 2008, the Museum was closed for renovation and reopened in 2010.

CAMOC is governed by the Board of Directors of the Chinatown Museum Foundation (CMF), a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation located in Chicago, Illinois.