Two colleges and two education programs unite this weekend to explore Asian culture as part of the Spring Lunar Festival, one of Asia’s most important annual events.



In an effort to entertain, enlighten and educate the community, The Evergreen State College’s Silk Roads program and South Puget Sound Community College’s Chinese language program have joined forces to bring several revered guests to Olympia.



This year’s celebration is significant because it marks the end of a zodiac cycle. The festival aims to answer the question, “In a new year and a new beginning, how do we make ourselves better? How do we make our world better?”



Kicking off the festivities, Chungliang Al Huang, Living Tao founder and president, will speak for his fifth consecutive year at The Evergreen State College’s Spring Lunar Festival. Huang, a distinguished Tai Chi master and authority on East-West cultural synthesis, will lead a Tai Chi movement workshop Friday, March 9, at 10 a.m. at The Evergreen State College Library. Huang’s Tai Chi teaching technique is different from others in that he focuses less on position and more on energy, which makes the learning process easier and more enjoyable for students. The class will be accompanied by music from Stuart Dempster, an esteemed trombonist, didgeridoo player and Guggenheim Fellowship award winner who is known for his unusual and astonishing music.



In celebration of International Women’s Day, Asian-American activist Winona LaDuke will speak about spirituality and activism Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Evergreen State College Longhouse.



Saturday audiences at Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College will belatedly celebrate the Chinese New Year by experiencing a colorful and exuberant authentic Lion Dance accompanied by acclaimed Kung Fu teacher Sifu Zhu on the drums. The Lion Dance is performed to ward off evil spirits, summon luck and good fortune. After that, Huang will present a highly anticipated calligraphy performance-art piece called “Animal Powers, Transformation and Renewal” where he will draw and explain the animal symbolism and lead the audience in a dance. Then there will be a performance by the Chinese Youth Orchestra, Seattle Chinese Orchestra featuring award winning musician Buyun Zhao and Guzheng Orchestra from the Chinese Arts and Music Association in Seattle led by world renowned conductor Warren Chang.



Sunday the festival wraps up with a Community Forum discussing gender identity and self-cultivation from four distinct points of view. Hirsh Diamant, head of the Silk Roads program, says, “We wanted to look at Asian traditions in relation to gender, for instance, is it true that women are second class? Is salvation only for men? If women are righteous, what happens to them in the afterlife?”



Huang will represent the Taoist point of view. Dr. Roger Ames, a philosophy professor and director of the East-West Center at University of Hawaii, will represent the Confucian vantage point. Peter Herschock, professor and coordinator for the Asian Studies program at the University of Hawaii, will provide insights from a Buddhist perspective, and poet, scholar, sex columnist and professor of Islamic Studies at University of Arkansas Dr. Mohja Kahf will explain the Muslim viewpoint.



For more information on the Spring Lunar Festival, check out www.evergreen.edu/exprressions



[Tai Chi Workshop, March 9, 10 a.m., $30-$40, The Evergreen State College Library 2700 Evergreen Pkwy., Olympia]

[Winona LaDuke, March 9, 7-9 p.m., The Evergreen State College Longhouse]

[Seattle Chinese Orchestra, March 10, 2 p.m., $10-$20, all students free, Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts on South Puget Sound Community College]

[Community Forum, March 11, 2 p.m., free, Evergreen Longhouse]