"5th Annual Tomodachi Festival : A Celebration of Japanese Culture" at Carnegie Library in Oakland, April 16.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania shares word of the 5th Annual Tomodachi Festival coming to the Carnegie Library in Oakland on April 16.

Tomodachi is a Japanese word meaning "friends." Help us celebrate the spirit of friendship through activities, art and treats that showcase Japan, its people and its rich history.

Activities include origami, kamishibai theater storytelling, music and dancing, chopsticks practice and kimono try-on.

The event runs from 2 to 4:30 pm in the Children's Library at the Oakland branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (map; enter the library and turn right), and is free and open to the public.

Chongqing Hot Pot (火锅英雄) in Pittsburgh, from April 8.

The 2016 Chinese movie Chongqing Hot Pot (火锅英雄) will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from April 8. A March 31 Los Angeles Times review summarizes:

Chen Kun, Qin Hao and Yu Entai play lifelong chums whose friendship fractures due to an ill-advised investment in an underground eatery they call "Cave Hot Pot." An attempt to save the business via a DIY expansion has an unexpected result when the wall-busting leads the trio into an adjacent bank vault.

Bai Baihe plays an old acquaintance of the struggling restaurateurs, who's also a disgruntled employee of the bank they've breached. She comes up with a plan for them all to get rich, but before they can see it through to completion another band of thieves attempts a heist of their own

A Washington Post review calls it "Tarantino-esque" and warns of "bloody violence".

The movie opened in the US on April 1 and premiered at the Hong Kong Film Festival on March 21.

Tickets and showtimes are available at the AMC Loews Waterfront website. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

"aKDPhi Spicy Rice Cake Culture Event" at CMU, April 7.

Carnegie Mellon University's chapter of alpha Kappa Delta Phi, an "international Asian-interest sorority", will host a Spicy Rice Cake Culture Event on April 7. Referring to tteokbokki, the spicy Korean rice cake dish, the Facebook event says:

We will be selling cups of spicy rice cakes. In addition to selling irresistible rice cakes, we will be taking pictures and asking people to share why Asian American Awareness matters to them. Come out to support our organization and this important day of recognizing Asian Americans.

The event runs from 12 to 4 pm at University Center.

"The Visual Traditions of Japan" class at Carnegie Museum of Art, Wednesdays in April.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host "Art History Class: The Visual Traditions of Japan" on Wednesdays and Saturdays in April.

The history of Japanese art is marked by the constant interplay between indigenous and imported art forms. This engaging class examines these two sides of Japanese art from the prehistoric period to the 20th century. Our discussions examine how Japanese artists took foreign artistic elements, adapted them, and mixed them with indigenous elements to create uniquely Japanese visual traditions. After surveying the art and architecture of Japan up to the Edo period, we’ll focus on Edo-period and modern Japanese prints, of which CMOA has stellar collections.

The Wednesday class begins tomorrow, April 6, and runs through April 27. A Saturday class begin April 2. Each class runs from 10:15 am to 12:15 pm and costs $50 for students, $64 for museum members, and $80 for the general public.

"Hands-On Workshop Series—Calligraphy with Xiaoxu", May 3 in Oakland.

Advance notice for a free "Hands-On Workshop Series—Calligraphy with Xiaoxu" event at the Carnegie Library in Oakland on May 3.

Join us for HOW, a series of hands-on workshops for adults and teens. Learn from skilled craftspeople. Dig in and try things out in a creative, supportive environment. Join us for one or all of these free programs. Materials provided.

Chinese calligraphy is a traditional art form of writing characters using a brush and ink, which has developed over many centuries. You will learn step-by-step how to apply ink with the special brush, write Chinese characters, and take a piece of art home with you.

No registration is necessary for these sessions. Seating for all workshops is available to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. You'll want to come early to be sure you MAKE it on time!

The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. (map), accessible by over a dozen different buses that service Oakland.

2016 Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회), May 7 in Shadyside.

Look for the 2016 Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh Korean Food Bazaar (제21회 선교바자회) on May 7, from 10:30 to 4:00 pm. The annual Korean food festival is in its 21st year, and is held at 821 S. Aiken Ave. in Shadyside (map).

"Gwangju has more Korean food than Pittsburgh".

Street scene in Chungjangro (충장로), Gwangju's busiest commercial district.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a profile yesterday on infielder Jung-ho Kang (강정호) and his transition to life in Pittsburgh, ahead of his second season in the Major Leagues.

Japanese-English Reading Circle continues in Shadyside, April 2 and 16.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania's Japanese-English Reading Circle groups will continue in at Kenmawr Apartments in Shadyside on April 2 and 16.

Bruster's Ice Cream now open in Cheonan, South Korea.

From the 부르스터스코리아 Instagram page.

Almost two years after first reading about Bruster's plans for expansion into South Korea, Bruster's Ice Cream (부르스터스코리아) opened its first location in Cheonan, South Korea on March 31. Cheonan is a city of 623,557 located south of Seoul.

"Formation of a Layered Discourse: Cui Hu’s Mural Poem and its Resonance in the Story of 'Renmian taohua'" at Pitt, April 8.

The Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host East Asian Studies M.A. candidate Rongqian Ma and her colloquium "Formation of a Layered Discourse: Cui Hu’s Mural Poem and its Resonance in the Story of 'Renmian taohua'" on April 8.