Winter Matsuri with CMU's Japanese Student Association, February 17.

Carnegie Mellon University's Japanese Student Association will host its Winter Matsuri on February 17.

We are so excited to announce Carnegie Mellon's JSA's next major event of the semester, our Winter Matsuri! This year we will be hosting Matsuri with the theme of 細雪（ささめゆき）, or Light Snow, with the hopes that the end of winter will bring about beautiful snow!

Join us on February 17th, from 12-6 PM in the Cohon University Center (Rangos Ballroom) and play some traditional Japanese games, eat winter-themed foods, and watch performances from both university J-pop band and local Pittsburgh performers.

2023 Celine Song Oscar-nominated film Past Lives remains in Pittsburgh through February 15.

The 2023 Celine Song film Past Lives, which re-opened in Pittsburgh on January 26, will play here through (at least) February 15, running at both the Row House Cinema as part of its Love Languages series and at the AMC Loews Waterfront. From the distributor:

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

The movie opened here in June 2023 and had multiple runs throughout the last half of the year. and it is scheduled to play at the Row House Lawrenceville in February. Past Lives plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront on select dates through the 13th, and tickets for those shows are available online. Tickets for its run at the Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville are available at that theater's website.

2009 Japanese movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete in Pittsburgh, February 21 and 22.

The 2009 Japanese movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, the director's cut of the 2005 movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, will play in Pittsburgh on February 21 and 22.

Continuing the storyline based on the hit Playstation® game Final Fantasy VII, two years have passed since the ruins of Midgar stand as a testament to the sacrifices made in order to bring peace. However, the world will soon face a new menace. A mysterious illness is spreading fast. Old enemies are astir. And Cloud, who walked away from the life of a hero to live in solitude, must step forward yet again . . .

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; the February 21 screening is dubbed in English while the February 22 show is in Japanese with English subtitles.

Chinese-Canadian Pop/R&B singer PIAO performing in Pittsburgh, February 27.

Chinese-Canadian Pop/R&B singer PIAO will perform in Pittsburgh at Spirit Lounge on February 27 in support of Jhariah. An overview, from her Youtube:

Shanghai born, Los Angeles transplant PIAO is the artist you’ve been waiting for. With heartfelt lyrics and a vocal range that hits both ends of the spectrum, PIAO breaks the mold of the traditional pop artist and creates her own lane. Recent Berklee graduate and multi-instrumentalist, PIAO has had the opportunity to work with talented artists and producers like T-Pain and Don Cannon to help amplify her vision and build her musical repertoire. As she develops her sound and plans to release new music, prepare to know the name PIAO.

Tickets for the all ages show are available online. Doors open at 7 pm, music starts at 8. Spriit Lounge is located at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville (map).

Lunar New Year Celebration for Children, February 10 at Monroeville Public Library.

The Monroeville Public Library will host a Lunar New Year Celebration on February 10.

A new year does not start for all people around the world at the same time. Learn about Lunar New Year with stories, games, crafts, and activities. No registration is needed for this free event.

The free event runs from 10:30 to 11:30, and no registration is required. The Monroeville Public Library is located at 4000 Gateway Campus Blvd. (map).

New Thai restaurant coming soon to Fox Chapel.

A new Thai restaurant is coming soon to Fox Chapel, next in line in a series of former Thai places. New ownership has purchased the former The98 spot at 1034 Freeport Rd. (map), which was previously the longtime home of Thai Place, and added a new paint job. Management said the new restaurant, which does not yet have a name, may keep some menu items from The98, which was a new venture from the Took Took 98 team in operation from January to summer 2023.

2024 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編) in Pittsburgh, from February 22.

The 2024 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編) will play in Pittsburgh from February 22.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will feature “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light” (Episode 11) from the Swordsmith Village Arc, featuring the conclusion of the fierce battle between Tanjiro and Upper Four demon Hantengu, as well as Nezuko's triumph over the sun. Seamlessly followed by Episode 1 of the highly anticipated Hashira Training Arc, featuring the start of training conducted by the Hashira in preparation for the forthcoming final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, an episode never before seen by audiences.

It is scheduled (so far) to play at many local theaters, including the AMC Loews Waterfront, AMC Classic South Hills Village, Waterworks Cinema, and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online; please note, some shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while others are dubbed in English.

2023 Celine Song film Past Lives remains in Pittsburgh through February 7.

The 2023 Celine Song film Past Lives, which re-opened in Pittsburgh on January 26, will play here through (at least) February 7. From the distributor:

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

The movie opened here in June 2023 and had multiple runs throughout the last half of the year, and it is scheduled to play at the Row House Lawrenceville in February. Past Lives plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online.

No parade this year, but Squirrel Hill Lunar New Year event planned for February 24.

The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition will be hosting a Lunar New Year event on February 24, featuring a Lion Dance at 2:30 pm at the Post Office parklet.

Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition and Uncover Squirrel Hill will be celebrating the Year of the Dragon, year 4721, at the Post Office Parklet! After the Dragon Enters the Gate at 2:30, the lion will visit local businesses to exchange Hong Bao (red envelope). It will be an afternoon of prosperity and good fortune! We hope to see you there.

There will be no parade up Murray Ave. this year, but organizers hope for a return in 2025.

In the Mood for Love (花樣年華), Past Lives at Row House Lawrenceville, February 9 through 15.

The 2000 Wong Kar-wai film In the Mood for Love (花樣年華) and the 2023 Celine Song movie Past Lives will play at the Row House Lawrenceville from February 9 through 15, part of the Love Languages film series.

A summary of the former:

Wong Kar-wai’s vibrant romantic drama starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai explores the limits of morality, the passing of time, and courage as it follows neighbors drawn together by their spouses’ extramarital affairs in overcrowded 1960s Hong Kong.

And the latter:

Subtle and moving, Greta Lee stars in Celine Song’s deeply human story of two childhood friends who are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.

Tickets are available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).