Dragons on the Lake Dragon Boat Festival at Ohio's Portage Lakes State Park, July 12.

The 2014 Dragons on the Lake Dragon Boat Festival will take place on July 12 at Portage Lakes State Park, about two hours northwest of Pittsburgh in New Franklin, Ohio. Dragon boats are 46-foot-long boats with 20 rowers each, and have been a part of southern Chinese culture for some 2500 years. An overview of this festival:

Festival day activities start with a ceremonial eye-dotting “awakening of the dragons.” Once the racing begins, it will be non-stop action with dragon boats heading to the finish line every 12 minutes. The races are fast and furious, typically lasting around two minutes. With entertainment and lots of beach front activities throughout the day Dragons on the Lake Festival will be a summer spectacle for the whole family. Admission is FREE for spectators.

The opening ceremony is at 8:30 am and the festival is held at Turkeyfoot Beach (map). Two Pittsburgh-area teams are competing: the Steel City Dragons Mixed Team and Pink Steel.

And speaking of Sichuan, a new restaurant is coming to Squirrel Hill.

A new facade is up on Forward Ave. in Squirrel Hill: Chengdu Gourmet. Work is still being done on the interior at 5840 Forward Ave. (map), though the restaurant does have a website and a menu.

And speaking of Sichuan, I'll have to check and see if it's a sister location of Sichuan Gourmet further up Murray Ave.--or the result of a split--as Chengdu Gourmet's menu is identical to a previous version of Sichuan Gourmet's. The Chinese name (老四川, Old Sichuan) references the other spot, too, though it's not an uncommon name. Both are regions of China; Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province.

Groundbreaking for Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute held.

Via the Sichuan Daily.

On July 2 in Chengdu, China, a groundbreaking ceremony for Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute (四川大学-匹兹堡学院) was held. Provost Patricia Beeson---third shovel from the left---was among the University of Pittsburgh officials in attendance. Pitt announced its partnership with Sichuan University in the development of a Joint Engineering Institute on April 1, 2013. The institute at Sichuan University's Jiang'an campus is set to open in Fall 2015 with an initial enrollment of 100 undergraduates across three majors.

Scott Kofmehl and "U.S.-Vietnam Relations and the Rebalance to Asia", July 8.

The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh is presenting a Breakfast Briefing with Dr. Scott Kopfmehl on July 8 titled "U.S.-Vietnam Relations and the Rebalance to Asia". Kofmehl, a Pittsburgh native, is currently Senior Vietnam Desk Officer at the U.S. Department of State.

Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer at AMC Loews Waterfront.

The 2013 film Snowpiercer, by Korean director Bong Joon-ho, made its US debut last week and is still playing at AMC Loews Waterfront (map).



It stars Song Kang-ho (pictured above) and Chris Evans, though 80% of the film is in English.

Pink Box to open July 7.

Posted by the Ramen Bar Facebook page.

Pink Box, the self-described "Asian-European bakery" under construction in Squirrel Hill, will have its grand opening on July 7. It's located at 2107 Murray Ave. (map) in the old Chaya location that's been empty for years, it's across the street from a Korean bakery (Sumi's Cakery), up the hill from a Taiwanese bakery (Bubble Pi), and down the street from two others.

After checking it out while under construction I suspected it was by the same ownership of Ramen Bar (and Rose Tea Cafe), and that the above poster turned up on the Ramen Bar's Facebook page offers confirmation.

Korean-style chicken coming soon to Pittsburgh.

Chick'n Bubbly just posted this to its Facebook page:



Signage went up for Chick'n Bubbly last month at 117 Oakland Ave. (map) in what used to be a nail salon. It would be the first place in Pittsburgh to offer Korean-style fried chicken, which features a "delicate crust, addictive seasoning and moist meat" ubiquitous in restaurants and delivery places in South Korea.

Chiharu Shiota "Traces of Memory" exhibition still at Mattress Factory.

"Stairway", from Chiharu Shiota's official website.

An exhibition by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota that was scheduled to run through May 31 will remain on display for the foreseeable future. "Traces of Memory" is at the Mattress Factory's new satellite gallery, located at 516 Sampsonia Way (map), a few houses down from the museum's main building and down the street from the City of Asylum. The museum's website summarizes the exhibit:

Central to the artist’s work are the themes of remembrance and oblivion, dreaming and sleeping, traces of the past and childhood and dealing with anxiety. Shiota explores the relationship between waking life and memories through hauntingly beautiful installations that incorporate everyday objects like shoes, pianos and hospital beds encased in webs of yarn. Stretched in multi-layers in a gallery space, Shiota weaves disorienting cocoons of black yarn that reflect the artist’s desire to ‘draw in the air’.

The site-specific installation of new works by Shiota will fill the eight rooms in the building at 516 Sampsonia Way—a 19th-century row home with a storied past—which is suited to the artist’s work. Its interior is cosmetically untouched; the raw condition of the building lends itself well to reflections on the past and the conjuring of memories.

July's Let's READ English book selection, The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, July 11.

"Let's READ English" is a monthly book discussion group at the Carnegie Library in Oakland for English as a Second Language readers.

We will read one book each month and then meet to discuss the story, improve our vocabulary and practice our English reading and conversational skills. And have FUN!

July's selection is The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida. A summary from NPR:

A journey into the mind of a remarkable 13-year-old Japanese boy with severe autism shares firsthand insights into a variety of experiences associated with the disorder, from behavioral traits and misconceptions to perceptions about the world and social awareness. Translated by David Mitchell and KA Yoshida.

Further commentary in this 2013 New York Times review.

The next meeting is Friday, July 11, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm in the Large Print Room of the Carnegie Library in Oakland (map). Registration is required, and can be done so online at the event listing.

Taiwanese pitcher Liao makes debut with Pirates' farm team.

Earlier in the week, pitcher Jen-Lei Liao (廖任磊) made his debut with Pittsburgh's Gulf Coast League affiliate, "giving up," as Bucs Dugout reports, "a run on three hits in an inning and a third, while striking out two." The Pirates signed the 20-year-old pitcher in February. He's listed at 6'6" 260-ish pounds (198 cm, 120 kg), and he joins catcher Jin-De Jhang (張進德) and pitcher Yao-Hsun Yang (陽耀勳) as the Taiwanese players currently in the Pirates' system. In February the website Pirates Prospects profiled these three players and the Pirates' brief history of scouting in Taiwan.